Meaning
by Clockworx
Summary: When Katara is kidnapped by sandbenders Zuko assists his new allies in finding her. Things don't go quite according to plan, and Zuko finds himself neck deep in trouble and falling for a girl he had considered an enemy. Zutara. T for violence.
1. Search

**AN: Hi all! This is my first fanfiction. Ever. I've always been a writer and when I read a book/watch a show I sometimes have an itch to write a scene that didn't happen, but I've always sort of had an aversion towards fanfic cuz I like coming up with my own works. I think it's uncreative and unoriginal to write as a fan… but I've sort of come to believe differently. Basically this is a real guilty pleasure of mine. : D**

**This is a Zutara centric fic because after watching the entire series for a second time I was left in a depressed funk over the two not getting together.**

**Yeah, I talk too much. I'll get to the important stuff.**

**This takes place between Firebending Masters and Boiling Rock.**

**I'm lame and don't want to go through all the prelude stuff, so basically Sokka, Toph, Aang, Katara and Zuko left the Western Air Temple to head back to the Misty Palms Oasis to try and locate members of the White Lotus. While there, some terrible things happen…**

**Without further adieu, I present 'Meaning'!**

Harsh sunlight battered the earth relentlessly with its heat. If not for the shoes that Zuko wore the heated sand would have burned his feet. It kicked up as he walked and his feet left misshapen footprints in the shifty material. It was torturous out here in the greatest desert in the kingdom, even for a firebender. If he had any choice in the matter Zuko would not have been here at all let alone on foot and by himself.

With a sigh he stopped and looked up at the sky through his visor. The sky was a vibrant blue, but the visor prevented the exiled fire prince's vision from being damaged. He'd manage to purchase one of these in the small town called the Misty Palms Oasis located on the fringes of the desert. It had turned out to be a smart idea; as had bringing his dark hooded cloak. It protected his pale skin from the sun's harmful rays.

He stood on top of a dune and looked around him at the surrounding desert. He was searching for something. Someone. The others were out there too, looking for their missing member. She had been taken by sandbenders when the group was passing through a part of the desert. She must have gotten up during the night for some reason, for in the morning when the rest of them awoke she was missing. The inspirational, strong, stubborn, mother of the group. Katara.

Toph was riding with Sokka on Appa, Aang was searching on his glider, and he was down here, on foot. The group had left the Duke, Teo and Haru back at the Western Air Temple when they had left for the desert. It had been determined that it was safer and easier for all of them to split up. It was also basically the same reason that Zuko was on the ground while the others soared through the air. They covered more ground, and Zuko was tough enough to take the harsh desert conditions.

While he wondered how they were ever going to find Katara he tugged on the bandages on his arms to tighten them. They were like the bandages the sandbenders wore and kept his skin safe from the harsh light.

After giving the desert one last sweep with his eyes he headed down the dune and began to walk once more.

Part of him hoped that he would find Katara first. If he rescued her then she might be more willing to trust him. But then if she had purposely wandered off, she'd just be angry at him for finding her… Zuko didn't think that such was the case however. It was much more likely that she'd been kidnapped. She was too loyal to Aang, her brother and Toph to leave the group. Zuko… he knew she still didn't trust him, but he wanted her too. He couldn't quite explain it, but he had felt a connection with her in the Cave at Ba Sing Se and he wanted to feel it again. He wanted her to trust him.

He'd find Katara, and he'd save her from whatever had captured her.


	2. Separation

A day passed. Then another. Two more. So far there had been no luck, and the groups water supply was running dangerously low.

"We have to go back into town," Toph said as Appa landed in the sand beside Zuko. He pulled back his hood and glanced at the bison where he saw that Aang was already sitting. Zuko wanted to say that they should keep searching, but he knew it was useless. They wouldn't survive out here without any water. They needed sustenance. He could see on their faces that the others knew this, even if they had trouble accepting the fact that they couldn't continue their search.

"That's a good idea," he said instead, "maybe while you're there you can find more information on the sandbenders that could help us determine where Katara's at,"

"iyoui?" Sokka said, leaning over the saddle to look down at the firebender. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No," Zuko replied, looking down.

"Why not?" Aang asked, clearly just as curious as the others as to why the exiled prince was staying behind.

"It's best for me to continue searching while you head back. I might find something." The other glanced at each other, silently seeming to debate whether or not they should argue. In the end it was Aang who spoke.

"Alright… but be careful, Zuko. We don't need to lose you, too," The firebender nodded once, and as the flying bison took off into the air he pulled up his hood again. Glancing towards the horizon he saw that the sun was beginning to set. He pushed on regardless.

X

More than a day had passed and the others had still not reunited with Zuko. He was completely out of water and had long since finished off the last of his food. He could feel the lack of nourishment begin to affect him. His throat and mouth felt like sandpaper, his stomach constantly growled, his feet were covered in blisters and his legs ached from all the walking. His head spun and Zuko felt sick. He was constantly tired.

And still he searched. He searched the desert for Katara and the skies for Appa, but neither appeared. By now he would be equally grateful to see either.

X

The night after the next, Zuko began to fear that he wouldn't make it. He hadn't eaten in at least 6 days and had nothing to drink in 3. He had been searching for a week now, and his hopes of ever seeing the brave waterbender ever again were beginning to dwindle. She could be long gone from the desert by now…

With an angry sigh Zuko sat down at the base of a dune. He didn't want to give up. He couldn't! If Katara was gone then the Avatar would lose hope. He'd grieve instead of train, instead of work and plot with them to take down the Fire Lord. That would mean they were defeated and the world would be lost in a reign of fire. He had to find Katara for Aang.

iIs that the only reason?/i a smug voice in his head asked. Zuko chose to ignore this voice.

Instead he waited for night to fall and conjured himself a fire. He sat close to it to prevent the cold of the desert night from affecting him. Just before drifting off he was struck by an idea. If he was lucky, Aang and the others were looking for him as well at Katara. They'd be on the alert.

With that in mind he urged his fire to climb high into the sky. Higher and higher and higher until it seemed to reach the stars. He held it for a few moments before letting the line of fire die. He smiled. With any luck the Avatar had seen it and was on his way now.

He sat down to wait.

X

When he woke it was not to the sound of Appa landing, but the scuffle of boots in the sand. Someone was here.

Immediately on the alert Zuko drew his Dao blades from their position next to his sleeping mat. He stood in a crouch, feet planted as firmly as they could be in the loose sand. His golden eyes darted from side to side; he barely dared to breathe in case he missed something. In the starlight that bathed the desert Zuko could see nothing out of the ordinary. There was just sand, sand, and more sand. Silence rang in his ears for he could hear nothing, not even a breeze of wind. And still he did not relax. He had heard something. He knew he had. He may have been half starved and dehydrated, but the exiled prince knew that he could still rely on his senses to tell him when danger was near.

His mind briefly skittered over the fact that he had slept longer than he had intended while waiting for the Avatar. Currently however, this wasn't important. What he needed to focus on was finding his enemy… they were here. He knew they were. How many of them, what they wanted, if they were even human he didn't know, but Zuko's instincts told him someone was there.

And still nothing came. The prince's previous belief began to waver. Had it just been a desert night animal walking through his camp? But he saw no footprints… Zuko hesitantly lowered his Dao blades.

That was when they struck.

The sand suddenly came alive around him, shifting under his feet and causing him to lose balance. He fell backwards, but just as quickly somersaulted back and sprung onto his feet, ready for the next attack. A flash of movement in the corner of his eye caused him to strike out, but as he did he felt a force on his back cause him to stumble. He tried to flow with the movement and regain his balance, but after not eating for so long Zuko was weary and off balance. He fell to the ground.

A grunt escaped his throat as his body impacted with the sand. Immediately after he felt a weight on his back and a tugging at his arms. Fingers… he was fighting people. Sandbenders. And they were trying to take him prisoner! He wouldn't allow it. He'd be of no use to the Avatar in the clutches of these desert people. So with a surprising display of strength Zuko twisted underneath the other bender and threw him off. He struck out with his Dao swords and managed to slice what he thought was the ankle of the man.

The swish of metal through air behind him caught the prince's attention. Instinctively he turned, raising his Dao's to block the attack. But even as he moved to defend himself he could hear another swish of metal… he moved one Dao away from its partner to block the dagger that flew at him.

The battle continued for several more heartbeats, Zuko parrying attacks and striking out where he could. He had no idea how many sandbenders there were, or even how many he had taken out. Right now he was just doing his best to resist capture.

But when he felt a hot slice on his skin Zuko knew he was becoming desperate. He threw down his Dao blades and released a burst of fire from his fists. He had been stupid not to use firebending earlier; by now his movements were slow and sluggish. He was injured and his energy was draining fast. There were just too many sandbenders. _Don't forget why you're doing this!_ A determined voice in his head reminded him. Zuko breathed deeply and shot out another arch of fire at his constantly moving opponents. He was at the very end of his rope, but he was going to hold on for all he was worth.

That was the last thought he had before an explosion of pain in the back of his head brought darkness upon him.


	3. Goodmorning, Sunshine

**AN:** Thank you all for your reviews! It was wonderful to read them. I heart feedback. : D

**Musiclover-chan:** Yeah? In the show they call them sandbenders. Watch Book 2 Chapters 10& 11: The Library and the Desert.

**Sassyprincess:** Thanks! And no kidding. Zuko goes through so much crap in his life. ): But I love him!

**Nene428:** Thank you. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.

**Midnight iris:** Thanks, I really appreciate it. Haha oh am I? Why would that be? And thank you again. I understand that there are mistakes, but I don't have a beta and I'm too busy (or is the correct word 'lazy'? xD) to go through it all and rephrase the sentences that sound weird. Maybe you want to be my beta? And maybe show me some of the ropes, as I still mostly don't know how this community works. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Avatar, would I really be writing a fanfiction for what SHOULD have happened?

The first thing that he felt when he woke up was pain. It was as if an earthbender soldier was practicing throwing rocks at opponents in Zuko's head. The constant pounding greeted him as he came back to consciousness. Needless to say it wasn't a pleasant experience. He moaned softly at the pain, squeezing his eyes shut tighter and raising his hands to touch his poor, aching head—

Something suddenly tugged on Zuko's wrists. He couldn't reach to touch his head. He could barely move his hands at all. What…? With an effort he opened his eyes. At first everything was blurry, but after a moment or two it came into focus. The exiled prince was met with more unwanted revelations. His feet ankles were tied together with chains. Turning his sore neck he saw that his wrists were shackled to the wall that his back was pressed against. On top of all of that he was bare-chested, and his feet were without shoes. They had also taken his hooded cloak, his shirt, his visor, and obviously his pack and Dao's, as well as a knife he had hidden in one of his boots.

He sighed heavily. The scar on his face ached slightly; the ghost of an old pain. It hurt sometimes in times of stress. He wished it didn't. It just made it harder to focus on his surroundings, which was currently what he needed to do. _Where are you?_ He asked himself and forced his tired brain to work, _What do you see around you?_

With a deep breath to calm himself Zuko focused his strength and prepared himself for what he would see. Canvas. He was in a tent. A fairly large tent at that, for it was propped up and supported by various beams of wood. Most of the other walls were also of tent material, but the one Zuko had his back to was hard, compact earth. He pulled with his wrists, but both the wall and shackles were too tight to allow the Prince any wiggle room. He gave up for the moment as the desire to look at his surroundings again seized him.

The wall his back was pressed against made up a semi-circle and when Zuko looked down it he could see other men. They were chained to the wall. Prisoners, then, just like he was. And just going from appearances, he'd guess that they were Fire Nation. Some of them were shackled to the wall, like Zuko. Others, with chains, had more leeway. They all appeared to be sleeping. Not that Zuko was thrilled with the prospect of speaking with them, but if he did then he could at least learn more about this place. Maybe he could begin to formulate an escape plan.

Most of the rest of the tent was empty. The floor was sand and there were no torches or any other source of fire nearby that would of use to Zuko. Not that he could bend the flames when he was restricted like this anyway, but it was good to look for what may very well be a future weapon.

From the light that came tinted through the canvas the exiled prince assumed that it was either sunrise or sunset. If he took into account the sleeping prisoners it was more likely sunrise.

For several moments all that he did was sit there and try to piece his mind back together. He was still exhausted, his head hurt, his wrists and ankles stung with the bite of the metal, his body was bruised, beaten, and malnourished, his thigh burned where it had been sliced open, he had no idea where he was and Katara still had not been found.

This was a disaster.

After another minute or two the effort of staying awake was too great, and the battered prince fell back into unconsciousness.

x

It could have been hours or days when consciousness once again touched his mind; this time not in the form of pain but an icy splash of water. Zuko sputtered as he jerked awake and his mind scrambled for several moments as he remembered where he was and how he had gotten there. Searching for Katara… lost in the desert… sandbenders… shackles. And now a bare-chested, beastly looking man.

The man in question was standing right in front of Zuko, the leather straps that crossed his neck studded with various knives and weapons, everything bathed in the light of midday. His face was red, scarred, and yelling a loud stream of words at the exiled prince. While his head still pounded and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep again he knew that this was important. He had to be on his toes and keep his eyes open constantly if he wanted to survive here, if he wanted to eventually escape. So he ignored his pain and listened.

"—so your punishment for being from the worst nation in the world as well as _trespassing_ on our land will be to entertain us!" Zuko was sure he had heard wrong. _Entertain? What sort of punishment is that?_ He was about to find out.

A moment later the shackles on his wrists were being parted to allow his arms freedom. Zuko watched with predatory golden eyes. He was a panther waiting for the moment to strike. Waiting for the right moment… the chains on his legs were removed… and he leapt.

Except Zuko had not thought about his exhaustion or his injuries. He wasn't in his right mind and predatory instincts had begun to take over. His anger and frustration came out as his weak legs threw him into the barrel chested man. Zuko hit the main in the throat with his palm and was satisfied to hear a choking noise and see his captor stumble back. In the background there was a soft clinking of chains as the few prisoners who were still chained to the wall looked up.

Unfortunately, now that the advantage of surprise was gone Zuko's chances of inflicting further damage weren't very high at all. The prison guard took a second to catch his breath before his dark eyes flashed to look at the exiled prince. He took a step forward and simultaneously drew his arm back in preparation to hit the new prisoner. Zuko saw this coming and ducked, but his weak muscles moved too slowly. The punch clipped him in the head instead of the intended target that was his jaw. With frustration at his own weakness he fell to the sand.

"Call a medic!" A rough voice said. Zuko saw spiderwebs of darkness appear to fringe his vision and knew that unconsciousness was coming. _No._ He thought, _No. I won't leave. I'm going to find out what is going on here. _So he clung on. It hurt, but he did it.

Several heartbeats later Zuko felt rough, calloused hands roughly pat him down. He was too weary to do anything in protest. Another several heartbeats passed. Then Zuko heard distant voices, one male, one female. He couldn't make out any words. Then there was the sound of feet moving through the sand and a tent flap being moved aside. The voices came again, this time audible.

"This is him?" The female.

"Yes, miss," the gruff voice of a man. Zuko tried to shift his neck to get a better view but pain lanced through him when he tried. Better now to just lie and see what would happen. What occurred next almost caused Zuko to flinch. Someone was touching him again, but these hands were soft, gentle, and held none of the roughness that the earlier set had.

"You've treated him badly," she said with disapproval. _I don't need you to stand up for me,_ he wanted to say, but kept quiet.

"Yes, miss. He's Fire Nation." The other man stated simply.

"That's no excuse," she countered. "Here, let's take him to my tent," The man did not reply to his with words but by roughly grabbing Zuko's shoulder and maneuvering his body so that he was thrown over the prison guards shoulder. What happened next was a bit of a blur, as all the blood was rushing to Zuko's head. He pieced together that they left the tent and out into the sun before eventually entering a different tent. A much cooler tent. He was placed face up on a cot of some kind.

"Thank you, sir," the woman said, and maybe she nodded or offered him a smile, but Zuko couldn't see from his position on the cot. He did however turn his head slightly, eager to catch a glimpse of this woman who had come to his rescue, who had taken him from the hot tent and shackles and shouting men. She had her back to him as the prison guard left. Zuko stared at her long brown hair, the simple sand bender dress, bandages, boots, arm braces…

But when she turned around, the exiled prince was much less worried about her clothing than he was her face, for standing there in the sand bender tent was none other than Katara.


	4. Flirting With Pain

**AN:** Yahhh Chapter 4! So it seems like I've been updating every 2 days… Next week I might update once daily (or more!) because I'm not doing anything that week, versus this week I've been going to an all day camp.

The chapters also seem to have been getting longer. And sorry for any mistakes; I don't have time to edit these myself and I don't have a beta, so I just write em and put them up as is.

**Sassyprincess:** Really? xD I tried not to make it TOTALLY obvious. I know but it's like… ZUKO! You have to love him!

And I think most of everyone else's questions can be answered in this chap. ; ) Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and support! I love y'all!

**Disclaimer:** A legal owner of Avatar writing a fanfiction for the show. Yeah, that makes total sense.

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Shock expressed itself in different ways on the two benders faces. Even if he hadn't been rendered immobile by exhaustion Zuko probably still would have widened his one good eye in surprise and shift back ever so slightly. Katara was a little more drastic. She started and her blue eyes went wide with emotion.

"Zuko!" She cried, an expression on her face that seemed to say she was caught between wanting to run, fight, or drag answers out of him. The prince assumed her confusion was brought on by the combined fact that they had only recently joined forces and that he wasn't supposed to be here. His golden eyes caught her gaze and he simply watched her for a few moments. She didn't appear to be harmed, and from the way that prison guard had treated her it seemed like she was here of her own free will. And yet, Zuko didn't understand why she would leave the Avatar. She was fiercely loyal to him. Why would she give him up for this?

"What are you doing here?" Katara asked. She hadn't moved any closer to him… but she also hadn't left. That was good.

"I was kidnapped," he said softly, his voice raspy from the lack of water. Before he could ask his next question Katara moved to another part of her tent and the exiled prince heard the sound of water. Relief washed over him. He had forgotten how sweet the sound of water was. His throat burned, and he mentally willed the girl to bring some over to him.

"You and me both, then," he heard her say, and felt a moment of confusion as he had forgotten what the topic was when the presence of water had appeared.

"But you don't seem anything like a prisoner," Zuko replied, the obvious reply to her statement.

"They treat me kindly because I can heal," she said as she waterbended a small orb of the liquid in Zuko's direction. She lowered it slowly to his mouth, but apparently that wasn't slowly enough for the Prince and he tried to push himself up to get to it faster. His muscles shook violently with the strain. "Careful!" Katara exclaimed like a disapproving mother. "You don't want to hurt yourself even more. Stop pushing so hard," he glared at her coldly but did as told. Once he was laying down she carefully eased the water into his mouth, allowing him only to take small sips before he swallowed.

He hated it. He felt helpless and weak and childish, and it was even worse that he had to be like this in front of the waterbending girl. He needed to prove himself to her! He needed to seem strong, reliable and trustworthy! Instead he had managed to get himself kidnapped. What a fool he was. She probably had even less respect for him now than before. Zuko was ashamed.

"Good," she said gently as he finished the last of the water. His throat felt immensely better, but Zuko's pride had been shot to the ground. When she turned away from him to grab something from her tent the firebender looked away. "They give me my own tent, supplies, three square meals, time to rest, clothing, and all of those luxuries, but I'm still their prisoner. As I said, they want me to heal for them. They treat me with respect, but if I try and escape, if I make any mention of going back, they throw me in with your lot. And being the only female in a tent full of fire nation men is not a good place to be." As ashamed as Zuko was he found the emotion was giving way to another.

Anger.

"You haven't fought back," he stated softly, "you haven't… even _tried_?" Maybe her logic was sound, but in this state, maybe even in a full-rested and nourished state, Zuko couldn't believe she wouldn't fight. He'd barely been awake five minutes and all he'd done was fight.

"No, I just said—"

"That doesn't matter!" He barked, his voice still weak although it held more power than before. He moved his burning gaze to her. "We've been searching for you! For days and days, and you don't even have the decency to try and escape? Do you know how stressed we are because of you? Do you know what the Avatar is like when you're not around?" He saw her stop moving and look down; her eyes became dark. Zuko felt no regret. "You should have fought back," he said more quietly. "You should have been as loyal to him as he is to you."

"I am loyal!" Katara snapped and took Zuko aback. "I'm more loyal than you are! All you do is switch sides! Everything I do is for Aang! Even what I'm doing now is for him!"

"How is allowing yourself to be a prisoner helping him?"

"I'm trying to explain!" That shut Zuko up. Katara closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearly trying to relax. "Say I do escape. What would I do then? Wander around the desert and wait for you to find me? I could die of dehydration in that time, or starve? What help would I have been to you then?" She asked, although all of her questions were rhetorical. "I can't fight all of those sandbenders. I would just wear myself out, and then they would treat me poorly, and my stay here would just be miserable. I'd have no hope for escape. This way I can help people, and when the opportunity presents itself I'll be strong and prepared. Did you ever consider that, Zuko?" She asked, crossing her arms and looking down at his weak body.

He said nothing in response. She was right. He had just been too hotheaded and shortsighted to see it. After several moments Katara realized that Zuko was going to say nothing. She exhaled heavily before she turned around and worked to gather up the supplies from earlier. When the waterbender turned around again Zuko saw that she had a roll of bandages, a bowl of water, and a jar filled with a strange mud colored paste. He felt some skepticism when he saw all of it, but decided not to complain. He knew from previous occasions that Katara's healing could be very powerful. Just because he wasn't used to being healed by bending didn't mean that it didn't work.

"Where are you hurt the worst?" she asked, although her words were clipped and emotionless. She was still mad at him, then.

"Everywhere," he replied. His own anger had flared when he realized she wasn't over their fight. Katara did not reply. At least not vocally. She instead reached forward and roughly grabbed Zuko's injured thigh. He hissed sharply in pain and instinctively tried to withdraw his leg from her.

"Oh suck it up, you big baby," She told him with an exasperated tone.

* * *

Although she'd never admit it out loud, Katara was stunned that Zuko wasn't complaining more. He had been starved, weakened, had the shit beaten out of him, stripped, chained, and still managed to leap up and attack a man three times his size and actually injure him. She had had to heal the prison guard's throat when he'd come to her. Of course that was nothing compared to what the exiled prince's injuries, but the prison guard hadn't faced the same circumstances that the firebender had.

Zuko had endured far more than the normal man possibly could have. She was impressed. But she'd never tell him. Especially not since she was mad at him for chewing her out over not trying to escape. What did he know? He didn't know the meaning of family. He was dirty rotten traitor. She still didn't trust him. She wouldn't tell him how incredible the strength he had displayed was. No. Never.

* * *

Needless to say it was a little awkward when the waterbender began to roll up his right pant leg.

"What are you doing?" He asked and jerked in alarm.

"I can't see that cut with cloth in the way," she replied, all business. "And don't tell me it's not there. I can see the blood staining the material." Zuko lay his head back down and felt shame wash up in him again. He didn't see the blush that colored Katara's cheeks as she touched his muscular leg so she could get a better look at the injury.

"How did you get caught?" She asked after the silence became too much. Katara had finished cleaning and sealing the cut on Zuko's thigh so that it was covered with fresh bandages. Now she worked to rub the brown paste on the many purple bruises that covered the prince's body. He wouldn't admit it in a thousand years, but he loved the way her soft, cool hands felt against hot, dry, pained skin. It was a luxury beyond luxuries. It was better than almost anything he'd been served on Ember Island or even as a Prince in general when he had been accepted back by his father. It felt so nice… he could feel himself about to fall asleep… then she asked a question.

"Hm?"

"Caught. How'd they get you?" He didn't exactly like discussing past failures; they forced him to relive the experience and feel weak. But he had to tell Katara. She had been the reason he was out there.

"We scoured the desert for you," he told her, his voice soft. "I was on foot, Aang on his glider and Toph with Sokka on Appa. After a few days they had to go back to get food. I stayed behind in hopes that I might find some trace of you." He paused for a moment, drowsiness dulling his mind. He should have realized that pause allowed Katara to misinterpret what 'for her' meant. He didn't realize that she was touched by the fact that he was genuinely concerned for her. All of what he had gone through had been for her. Or so she thought. Until he set her straight. "The Avatar wouldn't have been able to go on without you, and since my destiny is to help him I knew I couldn't give up—"

"Your back is done," she said abruptly and stood up. "Do your chest yourself." She pushed – more like tossed—the jar barely within reaching distance for him. Zuko was strong enough now to roll himself over, and when he did he gave her a confused look. From her position at the entrance to the tent she could more clearly see the injuries on his face and his overall gaunt, malnourished look. Her heart and expression softened slightly. "I'm going to get you something to eat. I'll be back in a moment," she told him, and as she walked out Katara told herself she wasn't missing out on anything by refusing to rub the paste onto his toned chest.


	5. Stew and Muscles

**AN:** Ahh no time sorry I have to leave right NOW. I'll write the AN when I get back. Sorry for the abrupt ending, I'll fix it when I get back. In the mean time, enjoy what you have!

**Edit:** This is where we lean on T a little more heavily as the darker side of the sandbenders come around. And the title was sort of a spur of the moment thing. Stew cuz he's eating stew. Muscles cuz... Zuko's shirt is off! And he's athletic, am I right?

Oh and I'll TRY and post tomorrow but it's the fourth of July, so I mayyy not be able to put up another chapter. We'll see. I love you all! Thanks for your reviews! They motivate me to keep writing. ^_^

**Midnight Iris: **Haha yeah I've read fanfic forever but never joined, even though I've always wanted to. And a beta... well basically I send all of my chapters to you first. You edit them, send them back and then I submit them. ;) And thanks! I'm trying to keep them as in character as I can. I mean, the whole point of reading fanfic (for me) is to read more about the characters/world that I fell in love with in the first place! So when the fluff happens, I really want them to seem like who they are. After all, it's not really Zutara if they're not fighting and arguing half the time. haha oh disclaimers. It seems weird that we have to put them up even though this site is called FANFICTION, isn't it? xD And I know, so would I! Oh Katara, what an opportunity you just passed up... Thank you, and no problem. I love reading reviews, so it makes sense to reply to them, no? ;D

**SassyPrincess: **I KNOW THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING. It killed me to write it. But I had to keep her in character! And that's good. I wanted it to be a surprise. You just must be a ninja. o.o only explanation!

**Disclaimer: **I have a confession. Secretly I am Bryke. In my depression over the show being over and the movie being terrible, I got on here and wrote a fanfiction. YEAH CUZ THAT'S TOTALLY PROBABLE. -eyeroll-

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Delicious scents wafted into the tent where Zuko was propped. He half sat and half lay in his cot as he rubbed the paste onto his ribs, his stomach, his shoulders. Applying the medicine was much more difficult when he had to do it himself. His hands were rough, calloused and inexperienced. He wondered if he had said something to Katara to make her leave. He couldn't think of anything. Still he was relieved when she came back, especially with that wonderful smelling meal in her hands.

"It's not much," she said as she crossed the dark tent to Zuko's cot, "but it should do." He saw her eyes dart to the jar of paste and then to his half coated chest. They lingered there a great deal longer than they had on the medicine. The firebender wasn't sure what to make of that. Had he done it wrong? He was about to ask her, but her blue eyes glanced up to see that he had caught her gaze. Her cheeks colored; she ducked her head and gestured at the meal. "I grabbed some stew made out of some desert plant roots and rattlefox. There were also some berries there. Here. Try not to eat too quickly." She told him curtly and set the meal down at the edge of his cot.

Without a word Zuko shifted himself into a sitting position. His muscles and ached with protest, but he ignored them. He was starving. His stomach growled viciously at the smell of warm food. He wanted to grab the plate and just dive right in. He could throw manners to the wind. He glanced at Katara. She still wasn't happy with him, and he was supposed to be trying to get her to trust him. Probably better if he didn't make the impression that he was a wild animal.

Even though it was hard, Zuko managed to wrap his fingers around the handle of the spoon. His hand shook violently as his weak muscles worked to grasp the object. It wasn't even that his hand was damaged; it was his wrist and arm. _Never mind that,_ he thought, _just eat._ It was unfortunately hard to accomplish that task, however. Every time the exiled prince managed to get some of the food onto his spoon it fell off of the utensil when he raised it to his mouth. He just couldn't keep it steady enough. It drove him crazy. He could feel his temper begin to rise up once again. Soon he was just going to fling the food away from himself and starve. It would be better than humiliating himself like this!

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) Katara noticed his struggles. She stopped organizing her supplies (which is what she had previously been doing) and came over to him. Wordlessly she took the bowl from him and wrested the spoon from his weak fingers.

"What are you-?" but before Zuko could finish the question Katara stuffed a spoonful of the stew into his mouth. He glared at her, his honey eyes spoiled by the venom they were filled with. The waterbender's face was expressionless. Inside she felt annoyed, grateful, and a little smug. Zuko was humiliated. Here was this girl who he had hunted for the better part of a year and then betrayed when she and her friends had most needed him, spoon feeding him. He had captured the Avatar, injured him, hurt both Katara and her friends, fought with her, burned Toph's feet … the shame mixed with his humiliation. He didn't know where such patience and kindness could come from.

He wanted to say something, but he wasn't really sure what. Anyway his mouth was full of the stew which he slowly chewed. Katara sat on the edge of the cot and rested the spoon in the bowl as she watched him eat. She didn't rush him. Zuko assumed that was because she knew his jaw hurt from when he'd been hit by the prison guard. Had the skin yet faded from red to its regular pallor? He looked at the waterbender and wondered. He wondered how she could turn his emotions in 180 degrees. One moment he was yelling at her and the next she had him feeling like a child. How could she do that?

Zuko didn't realize that he had been staring until Katara shifted uncomfortably and turned around. She set the bowl down on the ground before she grabbed the jar of mud paste and stood up to return it to its original place. The prince's eyes dropped. He had come here to rescue the waterbender and in the end she was the one doing the saving. She was saving him from whatever terrible death the sandbenders had planned for him… at least so far. Actually, why _was _he a prisoner? Sure, he'd heard stories of them kidnapping travelers and doing terrible things to them, but those were just tales the natives told visitors for entertainment, right? From what Zuko was experiencing now, it didn't seem to be the case.

"Katara?" Zuko said, his voice soft. Almost… timid. His tone caused her to glance back at him, her blue eyes questioning in the dim lighting. The exiled prince almost didn't want to continue but… he had to know. "What are they going to do to me?" In a strange way, he sounded both scared and determined at the same time. Afraid of what he might have to face, but willing to meet it head on if it meant he could get out of there and fulfill his destiny. Katara scowled a little. Zuko didn't think she was trying to be mean; she just didn't want to tell him. So she wordlessly turned back to her medical supplies. He slumped. What could be so bad that she wouldn't even tell him?

"They're going to make you fight," she said when she finally turned back to him. Zuko lifted his eyebrows in question. Was this somehow connected to what the prison guard had said earlier? About _entertainment_? Katara was about to explain. She sat down on the edge of his cot again and picked up the bowl of stew again. "There are several outposts scattered throughout the desert. They're made up of these… coliseum type buildings. There they make men fight each other, or animals, or they force them to run through mazes or pit them against a bunch of sandbenders… Zuko, it's terrible." From the way her voice got all soft he could tell that she had seen these things take place. Things that no one should ever have to see, especially a young woman like herself. She looked down to hide whatever emotion was in her eyes from him.

"Katara…" he said softly, and before he realized what he was doing Zuko's hand was on her chin, gently lifting it so that he could see her face. Her eyes were dry, but he could see the disgust and helplessness she felt at her inability to help the men that died.

With a nervous movement she shifted the bowl around in her hands and moved her head so that the prince's gentle fingers no longer touched her face. The firebender dropped his hand. What just happened? Should be frustrated? Annoyed? Compassionate? All he felt was confused.

"Mostly, they're men from the Fire Nation. Sometimes they're soldiers and they last for longer. Other times they're killed almost immediately." She sighed heavily. "When we—the Sandbenders find men from another nation they rob them, but that's it. Of course being robbed in this environment almost guarantees your death, but it's a better chance than what they'd have in here."

"What about women?" Zuko couldn't help but ask.

"Sometimes they just let them go," Katara said, "they're kinder to women. Women and children. That's probably why I'm here instead of warming some sandbender's bed," she said with disgust at the thought on her face. Zuko wanted to touch her again or do something to reassure her, but he couldn't think of anything. "They let families go. Women they turn into… slaves. Usually after they serve for a while the Sandbenders let them go. I'm definitely the luckiest though, I know," she said. "It's because they needed a healer. I…" she looked over at the exiled prince. There was nothing but worry on his face, and not worry for himself, but for her. "Zuko," she said, her voice a little more solid than before. "I don't think you're going to have it so easy," he scowled. She was right. He was going to have to fight.

"Unless we escaped right now. Both of us." He replied, determination clear in his tone. Before Katara could do anything he swung his legs over the edge of the cot and stood up.

"Zuko!" Katara cried out. Immediately after trying to put weight on his legs, they buckled. Lucky for him the waterbender was there to catch him before he fell to the sandy floor. "You idiot," she hissed. "You're not strong enough to do anything but lie down and eat!" The exiled prince grunted in frustration. His legs were completely useless. He had to hold on to Katara to find any stability. He hated himself for it, but he wrapped one arm around her neck and another around her back. He could tell it was hard for her to support all of his weight, but she did it anyway. As quickly but gently as possibly she maneuvered him back onto his cot so that his back was propped against the wall. He did all that he could to make things easier for her.

"You can't escape by yourself, and I couldn't escape alone and having you as a burden certainly isn't going to change that. And I'm not leaving without you. We just have to wait until you're healthy enough… and an opportunity presents itself. In the meantime…" she grabbed the bowl of stew. "We'll just try and get by…" she looked down at the food, a scowl on her face. "It's cold."

"Here," Zuko said, reaching for it and as he did, brushing her hand. As soon as she did she seemed to recoil and immediately drew back her hand. This confused the prince. "What?" he questioned. She looked away.

"Nothing."

He didn't argue. Instead he heated the food and was about to spoon some into his mouth when he caught Katara's expression. She looked… unbelievably worried.

"The others are okay," he said. That must be what was on her mind. "I'm sure that they won't stop searching for you until you've been found."

"You mean us," she replied. Zuko didn't think that the Avatar and his crew really cared that much about the exiled prince, but he nodded, if only to humor the waterbender.

"They were fine when I left you. I'm sure they've found more food, water, and they're on their way now. If a bunch of sandbenders saw my flare, then I'm sure the Aang did." As he did he realized that he hadn't yet fully explained how he'd come to be in the possession of the sandbenders… but then again, neither had she. "That's how they found me… it had been a few days since I'd last seen the Avatar, so I sent up a flare at night and hoped they'd find me. I fell asleep waiting. The sandbenders ambushed me when I was asleep."

"You must be a pretty light sleeper," she told him as she watched him lift the shaky spoon to his mouth. As before, she took it from him, even though he had managed better than before. He didn't want to let her, but was too tired to fight. He gave her a questioning look. "At least eight sandbenders came to me with injuries after they brought in a 'new prisoner'. I just thought they'd brought in a fighter; I hadn't known it was you."

The sudden sound of footsteps caused both of them to glance to the entrance of the dark tent. The flap was pushed open and there stood a sandbender swathed in all the typical sandbender clothing: bandages, tan trousers, visor, headscarf…

"How is the prisoner doing?" he questioned in a rough voice, addressing Katara.

"Better, but it'll be at least several days before you can throw him into a ring. During that time he should stay here, with me, so that I may tend to him while he recovers." She replied and her voice took on a formal note that hadn't been present when she spoke to Zuko. She looked back at the prince, and when she saw him open his mouth she quickly stuffed the spoon back in it. Zuko got the feeling that she didn't want him speaking out against this man. The sandbender's eyes behind the visor shifted from the waterbender to her patient.

"As long as he's ready for the next arena… a fighter like him'll win us some rounds against the Hami tribe for sure." Zuko couldn't see, but he knew that the sandbender was smiling behind his cloth. The prince wanted to hit him. "Do you want me to stay here, miss?" he asked. "In case the prisoner gets a little…" Zuko didn't want to think of how the man was planning on ending that sentence.

"No, no. He's too weak to try anything." She looked at Zuko. "He can't even hold a spoon." Zuko knew she was just covering for him, but he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

"Alright then… I'll be just outside of the tent if you need anything." And with that, the sandbender left. The two were left in the tent by themselves again.

"You should get some sleep," Katara said once the man was gone. Zuko nodded sleepily in agreement. He lay down on the cot, and within seconds sleep had taken him.


	6. Shut Your Hot Mouth

**Shut Your Hot Mouth**

**Title: **Because Zuko's hot mouth is running away with him… and by 'hot' I mean 'short-tempered'…or do I?

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Avatar, I never would have let them create that awful movie.

**Rating: **T for violence/gore and language.

**Sassyprincess: **Thanks! Haha you like it? I'm trying to create interesting titles. I'm really glad that you're enjoying the story. : ) I aim to please!

**AnnaAza:** I know, I dislike the fanfics that make Katara weak and like she needs protecting because that's not who she is as a character. She's strong, smart, and as stubborn (if not more so!) than Zuko.

**Firwolf777:** Hehe I'm trying to weave some fluff in there. And just you wait; it's gonna get better.

**Sokkantylee: **I must say, I like your name. I mean I really do like Suki and Sokka being together, but in some ways he and Ty Lee would fit better. –cough- yes. Thank you so much! That's really what I'm aiming for. Ohh and the fight will be very interesting indeed. Fff I know I'm kind of mad at myself for not figuring out how to get Toph in here somehow. She's one of my fave Avatar chars. Well, I love them all, but… you know what I mean. xD

**Midnight Iris: **hehe gracias. That's what I'm aimin' for. And that sounds awesome! It's okay; I'm sure they'll all agree that the end result will be worth it. Summer reports? Sounds yucky. xP After this chapter I'll send 'em to you, kay? And I think if you set up your beta reader profile (accessible via your profile) you can receive the chapters more easily. And I know, there were a bunch of fic's by Fandomme where I wasn't sure if some of the things they said in it weren't in the actual show or not xD and Katara/Zuko fights = win. Cuz we all know that fighting actually means flirting, haha. Ehh that's true, but then why wouldn't they have CLAIMERS instead? It'd be easier.

**Reviews are my motivation. ;D**

**And I'm also taking on a beta, so updates may take a little longer than they have been so far.**

_You were never a good son, the dark, ominous voice told him. You never met my expectations. How could you fall so short, Zuko? You've shamed me and your family. How come fate dealt me such a hand as to have to deal with you as a constant embarrassment? You screwed up again, Zuko. You've screwed up and I'm left here to deal with your mess…_

_The dark figure who was speaking shifted from the form of Ozai to that of Iroh. The words seemed to cut a hundred times deeper when Iroh spoke them. It also didn't help that he was standing, bare chested, in an Agni Kai court. 'If only you knew the disgust I felt whenever I have to admit that I'm relate to you…' _

_The scene shifted and he was staring at his uncle through the bars. Except this time, Zuko was in the cage, not the other way around. 'You let me down, nephew…' the prince tried to reach through the bars, tried to touch his uncle and plead for forgiveness. He wanted to say all those words that were bubbling inside of him; that his uncle was more of a father to him than Ozai ever could be, that Iroh was the only one who had been there since his banishment… but no words came. _

'_Can't you say anything in your defense?' he asked softly, and Zuko could see the sorrow burning in his eyes. He tried to cry out, tried to scream, but nothing worked. Iroh stood up and left. The young firebender was left alone in his prison._

_That is, until a new torturous scene began to play itself out for him. This one involved Aang being killed by Ozai… Zuko choked. He tried to move his limbs to help but they were just as useless as his words had been previously. There was a burst of flame, a faint cry, then the Avatar's body falling, falling, falling… but it wasn't Aang falling. It was Zuko. And when he hit the ground in his new environment he saw Katara. Her hands were tied so she couldn't waterbend. She was in some arena was completely alone… apart from Zuko and the huge saber toothed moose lion that was approaching. The Prince rushed forward to defend her just in time for the animal to turn into Iroh and shoot lighting right at his scarred face…_

"_No!_"

"Zuko, calm down! It's alright! Relax, you're safe!" A reassuring voice told him. He must have sat up when he'd woken for now a soft, cool hand was gently pressing on his abdomen to try and make him lie back down.

"No, no I'm fine," he said, pushing her hand aside and then swung his legs over the edge of his cot so he was sitting upright. He felt humiliated once more. He'd had a nightmare and lashed out in his sleep… he'd probably said things… what did Katara think of him? She must have seen him as weak for still having nightmares.

"Something tells me you're not," she retorted, and pushed her hand past his black hair to touch the skin of his forehead. Zuko didn't realize until then just how sweaty he was. "You're burning up…" and even though he couldn't see her face the exiled prince was sure she was scowling.

"Just give me some water and I'll be fine," he replied stubbornly and his golden eyes flicked quickly around the tent. He was still in the same tent as earlier; Katara's tent. He could see another two cots; one which he assumed she slept on and another for possibly a second patient. To the side he saw a barrel and stacks of jars, bandages and other medical supplies.

"Here," she said. He accepted the cup from her and moved his gaze from the medicine to Katara's face. There was a scowl on her tan features, but he knew it was just because she was worried. "That must have been some dream," she said. Zuko looked away. He didn't want to discuss it.

"I thought you could just heal with waterbending," he said in hopes that she would let the topic drop.

"Sokka's made better transitions than that, and that's really saying something," she retorted from her seat next to him. The exiled prince drank from his cup and still did not look at her. She was right; he wasn't exactly the most social person, partly because of his temper. Not to say that Zuko wasn't intelligent. He just didn't always know the best way to communicate with others. That was clear to Katara now as she sat beside the prince.

"I can, but it takes a lot of energy. There's also a limited supply considering we're in the desert. A combination of herbs and bending is the best way to go out here." She turned to him. "Your dream… was it about your father?" his eyes narrowed. He took another sip from the water. He was covered in sweat from the stress his nightmare had brought on. "You can tell me, Zuko," she said, clearly determined to drag the information out of him. He seemed just as determined not to say anything. "Was about how you got your scar…?"

Limbs shaking with fury the prince stood up and the empty cup fell to the sandy floor. He was _not_ going to put up with this!

"Why do you care?" He snapped, "You don't even trust me, and suddenly you want to know what I dream of?" His temper flared like an ember that had been blown on. But just as he had become angry, so had she. She was not going to be cowed.

"Well I'm sorry for showing some concern!" she stood up and faced him, her fists clenched. "I just want you to be healthy so that we can get out of here!"

"Why wait until then?" he growled as he towered over her. "Why don't you just leave now? You hate me so much I don't see why you have a problem leaving me behind!"

"I already told you!" out of the corner of his eye Zuko could see the water in the barrel shaking with her fury. "I have nowhere to escape to! Even if I did manage to give all these sandbenders the slip I would just be lost to miles and miles of desert! I have no idea if Aang and the others would find me before any supplies I had stolen would be gone. It's a suicide!" Her voice was a low, angry hiss so that any guards outside of the tent would not hear her words.

"And how would I change any of that!"

"You can send flares,"

"The sandbenders would see it too, and we'd be recaptured!"

"Not if we were careful," she said, her fists still clenched, her knuckles white with the effort.

"What if they still catch us?" he asked, his voice rising. "Do you think they'll be so kind to you a second time around? And what about me? I don't have the advantage of being a female waterbender like you do! I—" but before Zuko could continue on his tirade water flew at his mouth and hardened into ice that prevented him from saying anything further. Before he could manage to melt the ice he heard the sound of the tent flap open.

"What is going on here?" a gruff voice asked. Their voice was demanding and tough. The exiled prince had a feeling that this wasn't just another guard.

"Sir, it's nothing. My patient is just dehydrated and tired. He isn't in control of himself… I have the situation handled." She had him _handled? _Zuko was clearly unimpressed by this phrasing and glared at Katara to let her know such was the case. She, however, was too busy keeping her eyes on the man who had entered the tent to notice.

"Is that so?" Zuko finally redirected his gaze to the skinny man who stood near the entrance of the tent. He was flanked by two sandbenders. There didn't appear to be anything very exceptional about the man. His voice wasn't that deep, even. He wasn't particularly bulky, his clothes didn't stray too far from the usual desert style, there didn't seem to be any special jewelry or weapons on him that the others did not have. It was the way he held himself that was different. It was in his tone of voice. He was confidant and solid; he knew who was in charge.

"Yes, sir," Katara replied and now glanced at Zuko. The leader pushed his visor up into his short, dark brown hair to reveal stone grey eyes. It was then that the prince realized his mistake- this was not a man, but a woman. This wasn't a skinny man, but a lithe and muscular woman. Her clothes disguised the shape of her figure and the visor and neck scarf had prevented him from properly seeing her face. Her short hair had also led him to believe she was male, as well as the fact that Katara was calling her a sir… but then again, the few women generals in the Fire Nation also held the title of 'sir'. Apparently it helped prevent sexist remarks or reactions from the crews.

In a way, the leader being a woman made more sense than it being a man. It explained why the male prisoners were treated more poorly than the women.

It was the shifting of those grey eyes that brought Zuko back to the present. The sandbender leader was looking the prince up and down. Those scrutinizing grey eyes lingered for longer than necessary on his muscled chest. Normally Zuko wasn't very self conscious but at that moment he didn't need a mirror to know that his good ear was beginning to redden.

"He seems pretty fit to me," the chieftain murmured and caused the prince's blush to deepen.

"He's strong," Katara said, (although it sounded like she had grudgingly admitted the fact) "and I've healed the worst of his external injuries, but he still needs time to recover… look, his legs are shaking," and they were. He could still support himself and it much easier than before, but his muscles were trembling with the effort of keeping him upright.

A smirk appeared on the chieftain's face that reminded the exiled prince more than a little of Azula. "Are you sure that's not just because he's intimidated?" she questioned and in doing so set Zuko off. The ice turned to steam at his mouth and flames sprung to life at his palms. He let out an angry cry and lunged forward. Fortunately before he could get himself into further trouble a pull at his leg threw off his balance. The flames extinguished as he fell to the floor, sand spraying up around him.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" Katara cried, frantically trying to cover up for her comrade. Funnily enough, the chief didn't seem upset. In fact, she seemed… amused.

"Don't worry yourself, girl," she replied. Zuko suddenly felt himself being lifted up and saw the sand underneath him being bent to force him into a kneeling position with his hands on the floor. The leather shoes in front of him shifted as the chief kneeled. A moment later he felt a rough touch on his chin as she forced his chin up. In the corner of his eye the firebender could see Katara nervously shift from side to side.

"I can tell you're going to be difficult," the chief said as grey eyes met gold. "And your scar—as well as your actions—have proved you're a fighter. But you know by now that things here aren't easy, and for you, they're only going to get worse." A dark smile appeared on her face and she let his chin go and stood up. "In time, you'll break." He heard the sound of shifting cloth but did not look up. "Girl, pack your things. We're leaving tonight." He heard rushing air and then pain bit at his ribs as he was kicked. He grunted, but no serious damage had been done. It hurt his pride more than anything. "And be careful with this one. He's a fighter… and don't forget what will happen to you if you allow him to escape." And the feet in front of Zuko turned and left the tent. The two guards, however, stayed.

"You can get up now," he heard Katara's tired voice say from across the tent. He pushed himself to his feet and gave the guards a vicious glare before turning to the healer. "Your temper is going to get us both in trouble," she snapped, and he could tell their fight from earlier was about to continue.

"At least I haven't given up," he responded hotly, and although he refused to admit it he was grateful that she had covered for him when the sandbender chief had come in. This whole situation was made easier by Katara… he caught her death glare. Well maybe not easier, but his chance of escaping was much higher than if he was alone.

She looked like she wanted to snap out some choicey, vulgar words at him, but a quick glance at the guards made her hold her tongue.

"Get back on your cot," she spat instead, exercising her control over him to ease her annoyance at being unable to argue. In another situation he would've grinned victoriously. Now he just dragged his feet and meandered back to the mattress. He sat down heavily.

"You need to be more careful," Katara said in a low voice as she grabbed one of the jars from her supplies. "Sashain can make this ten times worse for you."

"Sashain?"

"The Chieftan of the tribe," Katara replied as she turned back to Zuko. "Turn around. I need to re-bandage your leg." Grudgingly the prince moved as requested and lifted up his pant leg to give her access to the wound. He tried to prevent his cheeks from changing to a red shade. It was a little awkward when her delicate hands reached for his thigh, but it was better than if it had been someone else… _Or is it worse?_

"We're moving tonight," he stated to give his mind something to think about other than the waterbender's hands in proximity to his skin.

"Yes," she replied as she worked, "these sandbenders never stay in one place for very long. It's probably why…" she glanced at the guard, "We haven't run into anyone else." The burn that he had felt at his leg since he'd woken suddenly eased. He sighed softly with relief from the pain.

"Do you know where we're going?" he asked to try and keep her talking. Her voice was a wonderful distraction from his other aches.

"No," she replied, unaware that Zuko was using her to distract himself. "I'm not exactly familiar with deserts, let alone this one. Just that it's closer to where you'll have to fight." She wrapped a new set of bandages around his leg as she spoke. "And on our way over you will ride on a sand-sailor with me…" she finished wrapping the bandages and gave him an evil smile. "You're my slave until you're healed." Zuko actually winced at this but said nothing. They weren't on good terms, but she wouldn't make him do anything seriously bad… would she?

"But first…do you hurt anywhere else?" She questioned and looked him up and down, but with a much different attitude than how Sashain had.

"No," he lied immediately. She saw right through him and bent some water from her barrel and shaped it around her hands in gloves. She reached forward and touched his head. The pounding in his head immediately died down. The scowl on his face eased. It was over all too soon. She removed her hands and bent the water back into the barrel before standing up looking at the jars, boxes and empty crate. Her gaze darted back to Zuko.

"Time to help me pack."


	7. Jealousy's Friend

**Jealousy's Friend**

**Title Reason: **Read it and find out why ;)

**Disclaimer: **And you can tell by the fact I'm writing a FAN fiction that I own Avatar. NOT.

**Rating:** T for violence/gore/language

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews 3 They mean a lot!**

**FirWolf777: **Haha isn't it? I love it when he gets all awkward. And I haven't really been planning on anything for the rest of the gaang. Maybe later. I really don't know where I'm going with this. xD

**Bookwormforlife: **I haven't seen it. I've just heard from reviews (and friends) that it was godawful. _

**JustWriter2: **MUAHAH just what I planned. D And yep, that's sort of how it's going. Although they don't really know they've been attracted to each other. It's just starting to show up now. And don't worry, there's a reference to that episode in this chapter.

**More reviews = Faster updates. Simple as that. ;) By the way, would y'all prefer shorter chapters and faster updates, or longer chapters and fewer updates?**

**And many thanks to my wonderful beta, Midnight Iris! She helped make this chapter awesome.**

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The night air stung his face and his lungs as the temperature crept to freezing. The desert's dramatic temperature change at night would've had Zuko shivering while he busily hauled Katara's crates around. She told him that, normally, one of the other prisoners would do the task for her, but since he was here he may as well do the task.

"Shouldn't I be resting?" he countered as his arms strained with effort under the weight.

"You need to rebuild your strength," she replied nonchalantly, rolling her eyes. "Besides, you ate and slept the last few days."

"I was out for a _few days!_" When did he get here and how much farther away was rescue?

"After you first came to my tent you were out for three days," she told him, concern touching her eyes, a strange contrast to her previous annoyance. She walked beside him towards the group of sand sailors.

"How could I have slept so long?" he breathed incredulously. He was irritated at himself and suddenly, at Katara. There was no saying what could've happened to him while he was out! From the corner of his eye he saw Katara's features offer him a questioning glance. He gave her no answer. After a few moments of silence she lost interest and refocused her attention on the sand sailors they were approaching.

"Here, set it down on this—" she began as they neared, but she never finished her instructions. In the dark the waterbender hadn't properly judged the distance from the desert floor and the platform on the sand sailor. She fell forward, towards the deck… towards Zuko. He had already climbed on top and had been leaning down to grab the crate when he saw her fall. He lurched towards her, hoping the impact with the ground would be less painful. If he'd been stronger he wouldn't have had to worry about that at all; he could've just held her up. However, there was no time for guilt now.

There was an audible 'thud' as the two crashed. The first thing Zuko cared to think about was the sensation of Katara, lying on top of him, in a way that seemed so natural. She was soft and her skin was cool over his. She was smooth and he could feel her breath on his cheek—

"Zuko! I'm so sorry!"

* * *

She couldn't believe it! How could she be so klutzy that she fell on him! Katara felt flustered and she hurriedly apologized for her lack of balance. She pushed herself off him and didn't even notice until she was standing that he had his shirt off. She blushed and hid her face, _Ok Katara, we don't want him to get the wrong idea, he's just a friend… No. More of an… acquaintance. Ex-enemy_, that seems right_…Not really a friend at all. The situation is just forcing us to cooperate…Once we're out of this, things will go back to normal…_

Though she had gotten up the waterbender noticed that the shirtless ex prince was still on the deck. She looked more closely at him and wondered if she had somehow injured him in the fall. That was until she noticed that his ears were beginning to redden. She wasn't sure if his embarrassment made her nervous or smug.

"Are you hurt?" she asked in an attempt to be professional.

"Hey! Is he harassing you?" one of the sandbenders suddenly called out and caught her attention. She glanced over and waved her hand absentmindedly.

"Don't worry, Boon," she called out to him, "it's all under control." Despite her words she could see the young sandbender scowl in the moonlight. Clearly he wasn't fond of the healer hanging out with some "firebending low life".

* * *

He was glad when she turned away because it prevented him from further embarrassment. Zuko hurriedly pushed himself back up and reached down to pick up the crate while the Southern Water Tribe girl spoke to someone named Boon. The exiled prince glanced over briefly to see a lanky teenage boy with long brown hair in a short sleeved tunic. He caught his glance, which turned into only what could be described as a glare.

"Where did you want this, Katara?" he asked, hoping to draw her attention. The waterbender looked back at her patient and waved her hand in the general direction of the other crates.

"Just over there, on top of the other ones… and tie them all down. There's rope around their somewhere." She moved her head so as to flip a strand of hair back into place. Zuko had to admit: with the moonlight spilling down on her she wasn't bad looking; he caught himself midsentence and shook it off and her next sentence nearly rushed past him. "You shouldn't have any trouble tying them… as I recall, you're good with knots," she teased with a smirk on her lips and a crinkle in her forehead, referring back to the time he'd tied her to a tree…back when he had been chasing the Avatar. Zuko's blush from earlier tinged his ears and spread to his cheeks. He scowled at the wooden floor, hating the fact that she could make him blush. Once, she was only a water-tribe peasant. What more could she be now?

Without a word he turned around and walked across the deck to set the box down, blushing all the while. As he searched for the rope that Katara had mentioned he couldn't help but listen in on her conversation with the sandbender boy:

"Isn't it dangerous to leave him unsupervised like that?" he asked. His voice was louder than it had been previously; Zuko assumed he standing nearer to Katara.

"No," he heard her reply. "There are too many sandbenders around for him to try anything… besides, he's too weak to do much damage," Zuko frowned, insulted. He wondered if she was intentionally trying to annoy him.

"He looks pretty strong to me…" was the sandbender's reply and Zuko's lips twitched with a small sense of pride. He was perfectly capable of handling whatever was thrown at him.

* * *

The fact that Boon kept glancing over her shoulder at Zuko was more than a little annoying. Why did he have to be so suspicious? It was just Zuko. But then again, if her captors knew exactly who he was it would just make them even more violent towards him. The only reason the sandnbenders hadn't done anything worse to the prince was because they were so isolated from civilization that they didn't realize they had the Fire Lord's son in their hands.

"He's just showing off," she replied dismissively. "Did you bring any food?" Boon nodded and reached inside his burlap bag and pulled out fresh fruits—acquired at a previous market stop, no doubt—apples, mangoes and a few leechi berries. She nodded, flashed him a smile and thanked him. He was frequently sneaking her snacks and she was always grateful for it. His small acts of kindness were keeping her from unconsciousness and, more importantly, they reminded her that not everyone was as cruel and ruthless as Sashain was.

"You seem to be pretty comfortable with him around," Boon said. He was looking over her shoulder again. _Can't we talk about something else?_ She thought with exasperation.

"I've just gotten close to him since he's arrived," she lied. The waterbender thought it best not to let any of the others know that she and Zuko had been previously acquainted before their enslavement.

"So, just how close are you?" Boon's tone was annoyingly suggestive, and the way he raised his eyebrow at Katara did not help at all.

"Don't you have some packing to do?" She shot back quickly, adding a glare for good measure. He grinned.

"Not trying to get rid of me, are you?" he asked mischievously as he tossed an apple from one hand to another. The waterbender couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile at his antics. He could be extremely annoying sometimes, but he had a friendly quality about him that she couldn't help but admire. In some ways he reminded her of her brother.

"If I said 'yes', would you leave me alone?" She asked with a glare still on her face but the smile playing at her lips removed much of the effect. When a wide grin appeared on Boon's face she found herself unable to continue scowling, pretend or otherwise.

"Can't lose me that easily, Princess," Princess… he'd taken to calling her that ever since he found out she had a higher appreciation of cleanliness than most sandbenders. "Although I don't suppose you have anything else left you need to pack?"

* * *

Was Zuko hearing correctly? That Boon kid had just called Katara a _princess?_ Then again, he had sounded rather sarcastic about it, so maybe it didn't have the same formal meaning as it usually did. They carried on their conversation, poking fun at each other, sharing memories, and acting as if they had known each other for much longer than they probably had. Zuko didn't get it. He also didn't understand why it had given him a bitter lump in his throat. He swallowed and told himself it didn't matter.

"I don't think I have anything left…" she was saying now in response to Boon's earlier question. "But I'll have to ask… Zu-!" She started calling out his name and mentally smacked herself, she knew it was a bad idea to give these people further insight as to who he was and she almost had done it anyway!

"What?" he called out, acting interrupted as opposed to caught.

"Come over here," she replied. He sighed, finished tying the securing line over the crates, and walked toward the duo. As he hopped off the sand sailor he heard Boon speak:

"Zu? That's his name?" he had an eyebrow lifted and an incredulous look on his face. Katara stumbled for an answer.

"Uh, um, yes. Zu. Zu… Zu-zu." She glanced at Zuko, who now had an eyebrow of his own raised. She gave him a desperate look, but he offered her no help. "Well, uh, his real name is Kuzon," she said, pulling the first Fire Nation name out of her head that wouldn't bury them deeper the grave she had just began digging.

"Then how come you called him Zu-zu?" Boon asked, his eyes growing dark and glancing suspiciously at Zuko.

"Good question," the fire nation boy replied, crossing his sculpted arms across his muscular chest. Katara continued to fumble.

"You, because, uh…" her eyes came alight with an idea. "You kept saying it in your sleep!" Zuko's eyebrows raised higher. It wasn't a very good excuse, after all.

"Well, you did," she said defensively, glaring at him, begging him to go along with it. Zuko said nothing, although the tips of his ears were turning a faint pink. Boon just looked confused. It was, after all, a bit weird that Katara had called him the pet name that Azula had originally given him.

"So… why did you call me over?" the shirtless firebender finally asked. Katara perked up as she realized there was an end to the awkward silence.

"Oh! Did you get all of the crates loaded? Is the tent on the sailor?" Zuko narrowed his eyes and looked over at Boon.

"Yes,"

"So… you got everything?"

"Yes,"

"Well… less work for you, Boon." For some reason Zuko didn't think that pleased the bender. The boy shrugged his shoulders and feigned nonchalance.

"Kuzon, would you like some fruit?" Katara asked in an attempt to change the subject as she pulled out an apple from the sack on her hip. Though his molten eyes were on her hand, Zuko could sense the other boy tense up beside him.

"Yes," he repeated and reached out to take it from her, barely holding back a smirk as he did so. He wasn't sure why—and he very well didn't care—but he liked that this upset the sandbender.

"You're sharing food with _him_?" He asked.

"What's wrong with that?" Katara asked innocently.

"He's… he's… he's a prisoner! And why doesn't he have shackles on? He could escape!"

"I'm right here you know," Zuko reminded him with a scowl as he bit into an apple.

"And _what_ would he escape to?" the waterbender asked, closing her sack and pushing it behind her. "There's nothing out there but sand," She turned her attention to the firebender, "Sorry, Zuzu, but you'd die on your own out there." Zuko rolled his eyes and let his frown deepen, but didn't protest.

"What if he attacks you?" Boon hissed, looking darkly at Zuko.

"I'd _never_ hurt Katara!" the prince shot back, fists suddenly clenching and legs spreading, defending his point and measuring his opponent. The other boy had gone too far; Zuko would beat the arrogance out of this little punk…

"_Alright, everyone! It's time to head out! Get on your sandsailors and let's be off!_" The order rang out and both the teenage males gave each other a parting glare. It was time for the trio to go their respective ways. If not for the call the two probably would've been at each other's throats within a heartbeat.

"I'll see you at the Gobi Arena then, Katara?" the sand-boy asked as he began to retreat. She nodded and smiled slightly. "And I'll enjoy watching you plead for your life, Charcoal Brains!" he smirked and turned, sauntering off. Zuko growled and drew back his arm, the anger building in him. He pushed his arm forward, sending the apple on a collision course with his intended target: the sandbender's skull. _Thud! _Direct hit. Zuko smirked with pride and began to walk back to his own sand sailor.

"Sorry!" Katara called out as Boon turned around, a look on his face that could curdle milk. After a moment he turned back around and continued on his way. There was nothing he could do right now… his revenge would have to wait. The waterbender whirled on the firebender. "Why did you _do that_?"

"I don't like him," he replied simply, rolling his shoulders and holding his head up.

"You need to behave!" She scolded, like she was his mother. "Do you know how it makes me look? I'm the one who promised you'd behave off…"

"Off leash?" he retorted. "Katara, I'm not a dog, and I refuse to be treated as such."

"_Well you're already being treated like one,_" she said hotly. Then, as if the statement took everything out of her, she sighed. "Please, Zuko… it'll just make life easier on both of us if you don't cause any trouble, okay?" for a moment the Prince was planning on arguing, but after he saw the tired look on her face he decided it best not to. Instead he nodded curtly. "Alright, then let's get going." She turned and headed off for their sailor, Zuko following in her wake.

"What do you see in him?" Zuko blurted, staring at the ground. They had climbed on the sand sailor and were now settling down for the trip.

"He's not that bad," she replied as she folded her skirts around her and sat down. "He's just had a hard time with the Fire Nation. They ruined his family and scarred him." _And they haven't done that to me?_ But he held his tongue. He'd just sound whiny and needy if he brought up the fact.

The wind rushed up around them as the sandbenders began to move their sailors. Katara jolted at the motion and Zuko reached out to hold her steady, fearful that she might topple over. She looked over at him and moonlight reflecting off of her deep blue eyes caught his breath. How could he have ever thought her a peasant or barbaric? These people were barbaric. Katara was—

"You didn't have to do that," she said, interrupting his thoughts and caused Zuko to immediately let go of her shoulders.

"Well excuse me," he replied hotly. He turned away from her. Neither of them spoke for several hours and, eventually, Katara fell asleep; however, the Fire Prince found that he was unable to drift off. He couldn't get Boon's words out of his head. _Plead for your life…_ he would never do such a dishonorable thing. What he was worried about was the fighting, not because of lack of skill on his part but in the question of 'what was he going to face?' What sort of horrors would he meet? Would he have to fight other Fire Nation prisoners? Would he have to kill his brethren…? _Are they really your brethren anymore?_ He wondered. _You did leave them, after all. You're exiled. You don't have any alliance to them… not anymore…_ not technically, anyway.

Another few hours passed. The Prince faded in and out of sleep. He never slept for very long, and after waking up he always glanced at Katara. She was still resting. The exiled prince looked around at the sand sailors. They were taking turns bending the sailors forward. So far, none of them had approached either him or the waterbender… but he was remained wary of them.

A jabbing in his shoulder woke Zuko up. The sun was staining the horizon a violent orange tinge. He was reminded suddenly of Mai. _I hate orange…_ the sensation of another jab brought him to the situation at hand. One of the sandbenders was roughly poking him in the shoulder with the handle of a spear. The sandbender stood back once he realized the boy was awake. He motioned for him to stand up. Zuko glanced at Katara, but she was still sleeping peacefully. So he stood up, his bare feet aching blisters as he did so.

"What is it?" He asked groggily. The bender held up a pair of silver shackles. His golden eyes narrowed dangerously. "No."

"You have to," the sandbender said loudly, projecting authority.

"Shh!" Zuko hissed, "she's sleeping," he motioned down at the girl. He didn't think it was fair to make her lose sleep over his problems. "And I'm also under her care. Ask your leader."

"Sashain's changed her plans," the bender replied gruffly. He shook the manacles again. Zuko glanced at Katara… sighed, and hung his head. The sandbender tucked the spear under his arm and latched the prince's wrists together. _I hope you're right about this cooperating thing, Katara,_ he thought wearily as the bender took him away from the sleeping girl.

As they crossed the deck Zuko could see a building on the horizon. It was covered in sand and breaking down, nestled within the dunes and difficult to see, but it was definitely there…if just barely. _The arena. _What had Boon said it was called: _The Gobi Arena, _the place where Zuko would fight as the sick entertainment for his disturbed 'hosts'. This was where he would be judged on his survival skills and his ability to fight off an enemy. _But I can't die,_ he thought determinedly. _I have to get Katara and I back to the Avatar so he can finish his training. So I can fulfill my destiny, and he can save the world._ Zuko set his molten eyes on the ruins with a new determination and then up at the violently orange sky.


	8. Firewood

**Firewood**

**The long awaited chapter 8 has finally arrived!**

**Title Reason: **Zuko gets himself into a bit of a jam…

**Disclaimer: **When pigs fly (a lot of shit is gonna go down) I'll own A:TLA.

**Rating: **T for violence and language

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews 3 They mean a lot!**

**Firwolf77:** All in due time, friend, all in due time.

**XxXxXxILuvNicoDiAngeloxXxXxX****: **I heard that, too. 'Soak-ah' haha I don't think so, movie. I'm glad I didn't see it and spoil my opinion of the series. And WHAT? Ozai CARED about Zuko? What sort of madness is this! OUTRAGE! And I'm glad that you like my story. Haha the disclaimers are always fun to write. They tickle my crazy sense of humor.

**Animalvr11: **….no promises. :)

**AnnaAza: **Zuko has lots of practice xD And read to find out!

**VampireInDisguise: **-shrug- I guess I don't mind too much, but posting more frequently is kind of nice cuz I seem to get more reviews that way, haha. And oh, you know boys. xD Both vying for poor Katara's attention.

**AmieBean:** You're going to find out… but not for several chapters still. There's quite a lot of drama coming up here soon. As for fluff… weeeell I gotta build up to that. It comes in heavily later.

**More reviews = Faster updates. Simple as that. ;)**

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It turned out that Sashain's changed plans meant that Zuko was to speak with her. After he'd been prodded awake, the sandbender had guided him towards the opposite end of the sailor. The firebender wished the man would stop poking him in the back with the butt of his spear…he would've walked _without_ the abuse. Hadn't they figured that out already? He was cooperating…mostly. _Unless…they're about to tell me something that might make me less compliant…_ the thought was not a welcome one, but, given the situation, it was all too real a possibility.

The sharp sound of wood hitting wood brought Zuko out of his thoughts; his sandbender escort was no longer jabbing him in the back with his spear. This was because he was too busy pounding it against their leader's door.

"Sashain!" he called in gruff voice, "The prisoner is here!" They were received with silence. The guard stood in an "at ease" position and waited. For a moment Zuko was tempted to melt the shackles off and take the sandbender down, but he realized there was more than a few problems with doing that, one of which being that he couldn't melt the iron shackles without severely injuring his hands and wrists. He exhaled his frustrations through his nose and lowered his eye lids. His lack of sleep was catching up to him, of course, considering it was the worst possible moment. He cursed his paranoid musings from earlier. _Don't bother hiding it, you weren't paranoid, you were being protective, _his conscious hissed; _You were pretty determined to make sure none of them bothered Katara…_ He ignored the voice in his head. It reminded him far too much of Uncle for his liking.

When the door finally opened, Zuko had to look down to meet the grey eyes of Sashain. She was unexpectedly shorter that he was; he hadn't noticed it before, probably—he figured—because he was on the ground, drifting in and out of consciousness most of the time.

"Come in," Sashain said cordially. Zuko squirmed under the smirk playing across her face. She stepped to the side to allow him entrance. "Tsu'ger, stay out here." She said, dismissing the guard. Behind the exiled prince the guard nodded and moved to stand to in front the entrance.

The door shut with an ominous 'thunk'. Zuko narrowed his eyes and stood in the center of the Spartan room. Excluding a desk, two chairs and some decorative swords on the walls, the wooden room was completely empty.

It was also completely flammable.

Of course, if he burnt the place down he'd probably go down with it…plus, if he firebent, he risked the comfort and protection he had afforded himself as being a patient of Katara's. _Stop thinking of escape and deal with the situation at hand!_ He chastised; he needed to stop losing focus. To his side he heard Sashain moving about, he stood perfectly still as he listened to her. She was stalking around slowly, reminding Zuko of a feline.

"You look remarkably healthy for someone who's supposed to be spending the next four days in the infirmary," she said thoughtfully. The exiled prince said nothing. "Why the little waterbender would hold you back, I can't imagine?" the chieftain mused. "Did you threaten her, maybe? No, she seems too comfortable around you for such a thing… did you maybe know her prior to being captured?" Zuko's muscles tensed with nerves, and his jaw tensed with anxiety. He made his mind blank, hoping that Sashain hadn't noticed the subtle movements. "Or maybe you two are simply…friendly" she glanced at him and saw his tensed posture. However, she didn't realize it because of one of her earlier questions. She moved into the prince's line of sight, a smirk plastered against her smooth features.

"You're not big on talking, are you?" she asked. It was obviously a rhetorical question. She leaned back against her desk and studied Zuko in that analytically thoughtful way which annoyed him so easily. "What's your name?" she asked bluntly, shocking him. The question was rather out of context. He narrowed his golden eyes and fixed them on her storm-cloud greys.

"Prince," he said before thinking. _Way to let your arrogance get the better of you,_ he thought snidely to himself. What if Sashain took it as more than a simple nickname? What if she realized he really was the banished Fire Nation prince and turned him in to his father? _Stupid, stupid stup—_

"Interesting name," she said, her voice like silk. "But rather melodramatic. The only thing you're the prince of here is manacles and shit," Her eyes moved up and down his body again and Zuko revised his earlier thought. She wasn't like a big cat. She was like a viper. "Although, where such unabashed pride came from I don't know. Considering your face I can't imagine that you were too popular during your time in the Fire Nation, either." As she spoke she moved closer to him and reached a hand out to gently caress the scar on Zuko's face. He ground his teeth and jerked away from her touch. She just smirked.

"I know that your real name is Kuzon." _Boon! That little bastard! _

"Then why did you ask me?" he questioned calmly, raising an eyebrow. He may have been frustrated on the inside, but he managed to maintain an almost bored façade.

"I was interested in what you'd say," she replied, shrugging her shoulders casually as she moved to lean against her desk once more. "I think _Prince_ fits you better than your real name. It, at least, matches your haughtiness," Zuko narrowed his eyes at her again. _You're one to speak,_ he thought, wishing he could say the words aloud without having to face the repercussions. "So, _Princey, _about you and the watberbender: she's always been kind to her patients, but you seem to have really found a place in her heart, and I can't help but wonder why? Not that you're unattractive or anything," He hated that smile on her face, that sparkle in her eyes. Still, it did not stop him from keeping his spine straight and his chin up. He would hold himself like he deserved respect. He had to. If he allowed any crack in his armor these people would find it and exploit it.

"Y'see, Prince, I don't particularly care how you and your opposite manage to get along so well. I just want to know if it's you rubbing off on her… or her on you?" she was moving around the room again, making Zuko feel uncomfortable. She seemed to enjoy making him nervous. "She is a model prisoner. If she keeps up her behavior we will release her and she may choose to stay with us, or go free. And if you behave yourself, maybe you'll get a few more benefits, as well. But if you're corrupting her, well then, we'll have a problem." She was behind her desk, leaning forward. "If I discover that you've been plotting with her, _Prince," _she hissed with malice, "you'll suffer like you've never suffered before and s_he'll_ suffer like you've never suffered before." Bitterness rose in the Zuko's throat and his heart dropped and the thought of the latter.

"So what I'm saying is: if you follow our rules and play our _little_ games, then your time here might not be a _total_, hellish nightmare." She had moved again and was now standing right beside the exiled prince. "But if you cross me…" she leaned in so that her breath tickled Zuko's ear as she spoke. "you'll _beg_ for it to be as easy as a hellish nightmare." With that she leaned back, a smug look on her face that made his palms itch with anger and spite. Instead he met her stone gaze with hooded eyes, his face as stoic as it had been the entire time.

"Good luck in the arena, Prince," she said, a smirk still on her lips. "You're going to need it." And then she waved her hand, indicating that he was dismissed. He turned around and headed for the door, his mind whirling.

* * *

"Hey," a soft voice said just above her ear. She moaned in annoyance. She was tired. She didn't want to have to get up. "Hey, Katara," the voice came again, rough and kind of raspy. She moaned again, this time more loudly and shifted her head away from the source of the noise. For a moment there was silence. She was relieved that the opportunity to sleep was still intact. That was, until she felt a soft touch at her chin.

"_Zu-!_" but when her blue eyes flew open the waterbender realized that it wasn't Zuko whom had touched her chin, but a sandbender. Boon. Her cheeks immediately flushed at the guilty look on his face. "Oh, Boon, I'm sorry, I thought you were—"

"Zuzu?" he finished, and she couldn't help but think she sensed there was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yeah…" she said softly and pushed herself off the sandy deck. "Where is he, anyway?" she looked around and held a hand above her eyes to create a visor as she scanned the area for him. (Boon watched her and decided against telling her the visor that hung around her neck might be more useful than her hand)

She was worried about the Fire Nation youth. Last time the two had been in the same room Sashain had kept giving the prince this… predatory look. The girl was worried. If Zuko lost his temper around the sandbender chief, the consequences would be dire, and this time she wasn't around to mediate.

"I think he's speaking to Sashain," Boon said grudgingly and drawing Katara from her thoughts.

"Why? He's supposed to stay with me," she responded, displeased. Sashain had agreed to let Zuko stay under her care for a full week.

Boon shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I guess she thinks he's healthy enough to go with the other prisoners now." He paused a second, but when Katara didn't reply he took the opportunity to escape talk of "ZuZu". "I just came over here to let you know we've arrived and I'd be happy to help you unpack."

She turned and smiled at him, brightened by his off.

"Oh! Well thank you, Boon. That's going to be a huge help since…uh…Kuzon isn't here." She said, only forgetting Zuko's temporary alias for the briefest of moments. Boon didn't even notice. He just shrugged and smiled slightly, like it was no big deal.

"It's no problem," he said casually as he kneeled beside her and began to untie the knots.

While he worked on the ropes she stretched out of her grogginess: bending down to touch her toes before reaching up. She pulled one arm across her; then repeated the motion with the other. She was relieved and grateful that Boon had offered to help her, but part of her was still worried about Zuko. He hadn't been on his own since they'd first brought him in… _He's fine Katara,_ she said to herself. _He was banished for two years before you even met him. I'm sure he's been on his own before… he'll be alright._ And yet she still couldn't shake her paranoia. The firebender easily let his temper take control. What would he do without someone there to hold it back?

"It's a shame they make you sleep on this hard deck," Boon said suddenly.

"Hmm? Oh, I don't really mind," she replied absently. After travelling with Aang for so long she was used to sleeping on the hard ground. A wooden deck wasn't really that much different.

"So you care about keeping all of your stuff clean, but you're perfectly happy to sleep on a dirty deck?"

"It's different," she frowned a little, although she wasn't really mad at him.

"Man! These ropes are… insanely tight," he stated irritably. Katara looked down at him. A smile snuck onto her face before she even realized why she thought it so funny. "Why are you smiling?" Boon asked, apparently irritated at her amusement.

"I am? Oh, sorry…" she paused suddenly as she thought of an excuse. One came easily enough. "I just find it hard to believe that a sandbender who has spent most of his life around ropes can't untie some knots that a fire nation boy made," she grinned at the statements affect: a reddening face and a frustrated glare. Poor Boon, he was so easy to tease.

That, of course, was an extremely good thing for her. If he wasn't then might have realized her mind had been in a completely different place: she was back alongside the river, with her back to a tree trunk and her hands bound with tough knots. The Fire Nation may have been drowning with industry, but as a sailor Zuko could tie rope like no other.

"Ha! I got it!" Boon's victorious voice brought her out of her memory. She smiled, reflecting the grin on the older boy's face.

"Good job Boon! Now… let's find somewhere in these ruins to unpack."

* * *

When he exited the room Zuko immediately noticed that Katara was not next to the crates where he had last seen her, but then the crates were missing as well. Most of the sandbenders had already unpacked and vacated their sailors. He could see a couple of stragglers grabbing a box here and there or lifting one last bag or dragging a supply of weapons; there were a couple guards lounging about during the calm. Whoever they were meeting up with, these sandbenders didn't trust them.

"Less staring, more moving," he heard the rough voice of the sandbender—Tsu'ger—behind him, along with another rough jab to his shoulder. He growled with annoyance, he was beginning to hate that spear.

"Where is she?" Zuko asked impulsively as he took a step forward, his eyes locked on Katara's previous location.

"Who?" The sandbender grunted. From the tone of his voice, Zuko could tell that he didn't really care; he was just humoring the prince, trying to get him moving.

"The girl…Your healer? She was sleeping when you woke me." He took another couple of steps forward, off of the sandsailor and towards the crumbling ruins.

"I don't know…Around." The firebender wanted to press the man for more details, but he knew that it would be useless. So instead of trying to draw words out of the guard he just allowed the sandbender to guide him off the sailor and towards the crumbling buildings ahead.

After a certain point, the sun disappeared behind a stone-face; however, the shade the structure provided offered relief from the relentless heat. The sand began to ease into stone as they neared; the new sensation was a respite to Zuko's scalded feet—it wasn't ideal to parade around on burning sand without shoes. He wished they'd give him shoes…and a shirt. He was sick of walking around shirtless, he felt exposed… and he was convinced his shoulders and neck were stained red from the sun's burn yesterday, when he'd been helping Katara pack. The light really was relentless... he'd only been out briefly at twilight before the moon had risen and still he'd managed to burn his skin. But he shouldn't have been surprised; he was rather pale.

The sound of wood smacking wood drew Zuko from his thoughts and to his surroundings. He was walking through the high ceilinged halls with his guard. Everything was made of stone and sand was incidentally scattered across the floor. Once elegant pillars were crumbling into the sand under his feet. For the most part the walls were still intact, but the details carved into their faces had been destroyed. Sun fell in through the many courtyards they passed and, occasionally, it fell through the cracks in the ceiling. There was no furniture. The place was dark, ancient and deserted but it was somehow peaceful. Zuko felt at home in the ruins of this once great monument.

Another annoying jab—this time in his ribs—caused anger and irritation to burn through the firebender's veins.

"Pay attention," growled Tsu'gen. Apparently he had noticed Zuko staring at the old structure. "You're going to need to be on your toes where you're going," The prince desperately wanted to say 'I'll show you 'on my toes' and take out the sandbender, but he knew Katara would never forgive him and for some reason the idea of that hurt far more than any satisfaction of taking out a guard would've brought.

They came around a corner and Zuko saw where the previously distant sounds of wood-on-wood and the soft grunting were coming from.

Behind a door made up of thick metal crossing bars; he could see the shapes of people…fighting. He stared, a slight scowl forming on his face. Was this supposed to be training, or was this the real thing? Were they really just going to throw him in there? His heartbeat picked up and adrenaline began to race through his veins. Was he really going to be forced into battle like _this?_ Half-naked, sun-worn, exhausted, and weaponless?

Before he had the chance to ask one of the sandbenders that were stationed on either side of the door it was being opened and Zuko was being prodded in the back again. This time, however, he was caught off guard by the force—it was stronger than any of the previous jabs—and fell forward and into the arena.

The gate shut behind him with an ominous clang.

"Have fun training," Tsu'gen said in a mocking voice. Zuko glanced around just in time to see the guard disappear down the hall. Frustration burned in him. He hated being man-handled like this. He turned around and pushed himself off the sandy floor. His feet were burning again. All thoughts of his feet flew out of the window when he saw that all the other people in the rectangular courtyard had stopped fighting and were staring at him.

They were all fire nation. They were the prisoners he'd first seen when he'd woken up.

"…Hi." He said awkwardly. A couple of them glanced at their sparring partners with a look that seemed to say, '_is he serious?_'

"Hey," one of the older men said after a moment. He was tall, and though grey was already streaking through his hair he seemed fit enough to be a general. He was one of the few who actually appeared to be strong and in relatively good health. Most of the men didn't look very fierce. There were a few who could've been farmers, but most appeared like they'd lived a fairly pampered life before they'd been taken.

"What's your name?" the same elder man asked.

"Just call me—" _Prince…_but then they'd know who he was. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the people. Was it possible that they didn't know who he was? It didn't seem likely. But what would he do if one of them threatened to reveal his identity to the sand benders?

"Well?" One of the others asked, clearly annoyed by Zuko's silence.

"Hey," someone said, drawing in the exiled prince's attention. "Doesn't the banished Fire Nation prince have a scar just like that? On his eye?" the three dozen or so men in the arena all seemed to straighten at the same time. Several of them had a dark gleam in their eye and the others looked suspicious and concerned. These people wouldn't hesitate a moment to tell the guards they had Prince Zuko in their midst if it meant they could go free. He wasn't really their Prince, after all; he was banished. If Ozai eventually got his hands on the boy and punished him… it was all the better for the nation.

This kid was about to be in a hell of a lot of trouble.


	9. Flesh and Bone

**Flesh and Bone**

**Disclaimer: **I LIKE GRAPES. And I like A:TLA. That doesn't mean I own them.

**Rating: **T for some mild violence. And some French. (Pardon my French! …Y'all know I mean swearing)

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They mean a lot!**

**Densharr: **Thank you! I'm glad that you like her. Haha I know right? Poor, oblivious Zuko.

**AnimeBean: **It's not so much that I lack ideas as that I want to pace things accordingly. Feel free to send me ideas anyway! I'd really love to hear em.

**EagleCodex: **Thank you. ^_^ And actually, no! I didn't even think of that until you mentioned it… which is funny because I've read Pendragon. When I thought of Boon I was thinking A. of king Bumi and B. of Boon from Lost.

**Kist: **Good question; I'm sorry I didn't explain this in the story. If he goes around telling one person he's Kuzon, and another he's Lee, and then someone else he's Prince, things are going to get complicated and he'll just look suspicious. He also already told Sashain he was going to go by Prince. So he hesitated.

**Bridget Fist:** The movie was awful. I didn't even see it and I know it sucked. xD Really? I'm not big on cursing, but I think it's helpful when I want to convey a certain mood/emotion. And thanks, I'm glad you enjoy it!

**PushUpDaisies:** Wow thanks, that means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Reviews = Happier writer. What do happy writers do? Write. Do you see how this works?**

**I hope the length makes up for the delay in updates. :)**

**When life gives you lemons… write fanfiction.**

**

* * *

**

Needless to say, the prince had found himself in a troublesome position.

"Wait," he pleaded just as a few of them were beginning to shuffle towards the door he stood in front of. "Hold on…How do you know I'm really the prince?" he attempted and crossed his arms, trying to appear defiant and skeptical.

"You look like you're the right age, you have the same scar, and he _has_ been missing for months: there are wanted posters of you…er…him everywhere," one replied. Zuko rolled his eyes and acted completely unconcerned, but inside fear raced through his veins.

"_His_ wanted poster; _His_, gentlemen. Just because I have the same scar as the exiled prince does not make him me. Besides, didn't he say he was going to go help the Avatar?" he gestured and looked around to indicate the significant lack of the Avatar. "Do you see him around? Don't you think that if I were on his side, he'd be here to rescue me?"

"Maybe you haven't found him yet," another tried.

Zuko scoffed, "Prince Zuko spent three years following that kid around. Do you really think he'd lose his tracks so easily?" The men looked around at each other uneasily, shifting on their feet.

"Well you look enough like Zuko for me," one skinny man said hotly, and turned to head for the door.

"Is that really a good idea?" The prince asked smugly, his arms, once again, crossed over his chest. The man stopped mid-step.

"What are you talking about? When the sandbenders find out who you _really_ are, they'll reward me and deliver you to Ozai!"

"_You?_" One of the other men exclaimed. "_I'm_ going to turn him in!"

"No you're not! I am!" a third argued. Soon, it was an absolute free-for-all.

"Men, please," Zuko said, holding out his hands as if to quell them. "_No one_ is going to turn anyone in; Want to know why?" Judging by their glares, no, but the firebender didn't stop to let them say so. "Because when the Fire Lord finds out that I'm _not_ his son, who do you think he'll blame?" They all took a moment to process his statement. A minute smirk appeared on Zuko's lips at his clever dodge; however, inside he was still strung as tightly as a wire.

"It's not worth the Fire Lord's fury," one of the men muttered; he picked up a wooden club and walked back near the middle of the arena.

"I'd rather take my chances with the sandbenders," And so, one by one, they went back to their training. The tensions were gone. When all backs were turned to him, Zuko relaxed and let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Too close.

"So what _is _your name?" Zuko started, surprised at the voice. His golden gaze whipped up to meet the hazel eyes of the older man from earlier; the one who had first spoken to the young firebender.

"Prince," he replied after a moment of indecision. Might as well stick with the nickname he'd given Sashain.

"That's not your real name, I hope," the man said with a raised eyebrow. Zuko shook his head.

"It's not. I've just taken to calling myself that. I've been mistaken as Prince Zuko more than once," he said with a grimace. The older man chuckled softly, and the firebender was reminded painfully of his uncle.

"I like you, kid. You're pretty smart." Zuko smiled weakly. He liked the old man, too. He knew he was going to need an ally in this and he wanted it to be this man. "And if you were wondering, my name's Shoji." He reached a thick, weathered hand forward. The prince took it with his own paler, wiry, and calloused one and shook it gently. After a moment the two released their grip. The prince watched as Shoji reached down and picked up a small handful of sand. He dusted it over his hands, as if it had been talc, and looked down at Zuko, his eyes shining.

"So, Prince, if your father didn't burn you in an Agni Kai, then where did you really get that scar?"

"I, had, uh," he struggled to come up with an answer and looked down to avoid Shoji's eyes. "Displeased some Fire Nation soldiers, and—" he was cut off by the sound of Shoji's chuckle.

"You don't have to tell me, boy," Zuko stared, taken aback by the man's frankness. _Could Shoji actually know he was Prince Zuko__? _And why did he ask the question in the first place if he didn't want an answer? Maybe it was just to put him on edge. "I don't need to hear your life's story. In this place, we're all the same: Prisoners with a past that don't matter and a future of fighting and death. So pick up a weapon, and let's see if we can't extend your probably short life for a little longer." It was then that Zuko noticed Shoji holding a large wooden ax. Zuko decided it didn't matter if the man knew who he was or not. Shoji didn't seem like the type to turn him in, at least not for money.

"They give us weapons?" Zuko inquired suddenly as he looked around the arena. It seemed a bit odd to him: what if someone were to try to attack one of the guards? Or escape?

"Yeah…they do," Shoji replied as he rested the ax on his shoulder. He pointed to a cart that was mostly empty except for a few wooden objects left behind by the others. "It's so we have a better chance in the arena. It's more fun for them to watch us fight versus simply watching the armadillo-lions eat us up. They figure if the weapons are wooden we can't really do much harm to each other, but we get the experience necessary to make things interesting." Had Zuko not been so used to the military and hearing horror stories about things such as this then he would've felt sickened. Instead he was more determined.

"I heard they sometimes pit us against each other," he said as he looked at the other prisoners with sadness in his eyes. Some of them were stealing occasional glances at Shoji and the prince.

"Yes, sometimes." Shoji finished grimly.

"How long have you been here, Shoji?" Zuko wondered aloud.

"I'd say about two years,"

"Do most survive that long?"

Shoji's only answer was a forlorn shake of his head. No.

"Most don't even survive a month." Zuko grimaced and changed the subject.

"Are there any firebenders here?"

"A few," Shoji replied and the prince followed his gaze to look at the others who were still practicing. "They're practicing with their weapons right now though; see them over there?" he gestured towards an exceptionally clumsy group in the corner. Their form was so sloppy it made the scarred teen—as a military man and an experienced fighter—want to scream.

"They're terrible," he commented and Shoji agreed with disappointment.

"I just hope their firebending is better than their hand to hand."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it is. It's just…they practice firebending so much and spend so little time with blades and physical weaponry that they're not very well balanced." _I'm at an advantage, then,_ thought Zuko. He could wield his daos and firebend with equal promise. "You a firebender, Prince?" Shoji asked after a moment. He took a moment to consider his answer. Should he let him know? Or should he keep it to himself and use as an advantage for later? After another moment of consideration he lifted his hand, snapped his fingers and let a small flame appear over the tips.

Shoji grunted. He didn't ask any further questions regarding the flame.

_How come everyone but me gets a shirt and shoes?_ Zuko wondered suddenly. All the other men had on short sleeved tunics, bandages around their forearms and covered shoes on their feet… and here he was, standing out in the hot sun, the burn on his shoulders and neck turning lobsterpus red with rage. The prince began to wonder if Sashain was purposely trying to separate him from the other prisoners. As he thought this over, silence fell between him and the older man. For a time, neither of them spoke; they simply stared out at the other prisoners: The other men who shared their doomed fate.

"So, Prince, are we gonna practice or not?" Shoji asked finally, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"Not," the exiled prince replied as he looked over the man. He wasn't going to practice. He wasn't going to allow the other prisoners to see what he could do. What if he had to fight them? Zuko didn't want them to know what to expect; he refused to give them any advantages because if it came down to them versus him, there would be no room for pity. "Thank you, Shoji," he said, turned to the older man and bowed briefly before quickly crossing the dusty floor to a shaded corner of the courtyard. There he sat down and watched the rest of the group practice beneath hooded eyes.

* * *

"I believe that's the last of it," Boon said as he set down the final crate, satisfaction plastered onto his features. Katara walked up beside him, the handle of a wooden sled in her hands.

"Thanks a lot, Boon. It goes so much faster when I have help." She replied with a smile.

"Hey, I'm happy to be of assistance," he said with a grin. Katara reached behind her toward the sled—wheels were useless in the sand—and began to pull out a heavy, rectangular object when Boon intervened.

"I can get that," he told her. For a moment she considered brushing him off, but after a moment, she nodded and let go. "Just set it in a corner and unfold it, could you?" She asked before going to open some of the crates and arranging her supplies.

"Hey, Boon…" She said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?" he replied between grunts as he struggled to open the folded cot.

"Do you know if the Bah'Kre tribe is here yet?"

"I didn't know you cared," he said as he continued to fiddle with the cot. "I mean, I thought you hated the games."

"I do," she replied with a scowl. "I was just…I don't know, wondering…" Boon immediately straightened and looked over at her.

"You're worried about Kuzon." It wasn't a question.

"Maybe," she replied, becoming defensive and continuing to unpack, refusing to meet his dark gaze. He was, after all, her only real friend in the situation. Boon was kind, but he had obligations to his tribe. She still didn't entirely trust Zuko, but considering what they were going through she was willing to be a little more lenient. _He hasn't hurt you so far… but is that because he hasn't had the chance to, or because he doesn't want to? No… remember how angry he got when Boon _suggested_ he might harm you? Maybe he really has changed._

"What is with you and that guy?" Boon asked with sudden frustration. Katara's concern had, apparently, hit a nerve.

"I… he's just young, that's all," she replied.

"You've had other patients that were younger than he is… and _you're_ younger than that coal-for-brains jerk." The sandbender boy said vehemently. Katara sighed softly. It would be so much easier if the two of them could get along.

"You're right. I don't know. I guess I just got to know him when he was with me."

"I thought he mostly slept," Boon half questioned, half growled; he was determined, she had to give him that.

"He had nightmares," she replied with a slight grimace. "And that says plenty about him." There was a loud SNAP which caused the waterbender to start. She looked over to see that Boon had finally managed to unfold the cot.

"Damn, that was hard."

"You do realize there's a clasp on the side…?" she asked with a hint of a smile on her lips. Boon blushed with embarrassment.

"Oh. Right. Of course." She smiled and shook her head as she reached into the sled and pulled out the mattress which she set on the tough metal frame. While she did that Boon got out the other two cots and set them up—more quickly this time—around the room.

Silence began to settle between them. Katara contemplated saying something, but eventually decided against it. She let her worries being to catch up to her: Aang, Sokka, Toph… and Zuko. The others, at least, had numbers on their side and were most likely safe. Had they gone back to the Misty Palms Oasis, and as long as they had Appa they would be alright. Zuko, on the other hand, was surrounded by people who hated him and was soon to be thrown into an arena to fend for his life. She knew he was capable of fighting, but that didn't stop the concern.

"Katara?" Boon's voice suddenly made her look up from the empty bowls she was unpacking. "What are you doing here? I mean, what were you doing when we found you?"

"I thought the past of a captive didn't matter to you people," she replied and raised an eyebrow. She wondered where Boon's sudden curiosity had come from. He'd never asked her anything about herself before.

"You're more than a captive to me," he replied, and Katara suddenly felt nervous. More than a prisoner to him…? What was he trying to say? "I'm just… interested, is all," he said and looked away from her as he settled the mattresses on the two remaining cots.

"Well I was travelling with the…" should she tell him? About the Avatar? _Maybe not…_ "Some friends of mine, and I walked out a little ways into the desert to see if I could maybe spot that library everyone always talks about. That's when you guys ambushed me." Her last comment caused Boon to kick at the ground and shove his hands into his pockets awkwardly.

"We normally don't go so close to civilization," he said, "but we'd been following some Digging Jack Rats. If you can catch them, they're one of the best sources of meat out here."

"Boon… do you ever miss it?" She didn't have to elaborate. They both knew that _it _was a reference to a time when Boon lived in the Earth Kingdom with his family.

"All the time," he said with a sigh. "But this is better than living in a war-torn land. I can get avenge my parents on the Fire Nation people without being punished." Katara couldn't really agree with Boon's violent point of view, but she did understand where he was coming from. "What about you?" He asked. "Do you miss your Water Tribe?"

"Of course," she replied with a sad smile. She remembered exploring the ice with Sokka, waking up to help Gran-Gran cook, sledding with penguins… but she'd left it all for a greater cause. And while she loved her home, she'd never feel the same sense of thrill that she did when with Aang.

"Have you ever been in the Fire Nation on your travels?" He asked after a few moments.

"Yes," she replied, "it's actually a really beautiful place." She wasn't lying. It was quite lively and bright. The only problem was that it was too obsessed with conquering the other nations. The Fire Nation raised boys to become soldiers, and as a result the people could be bitter. "Their people can be… difficult sometimes, though."

"Katara…" Boon's voice was surprisingly delicate. "You don't have to tell me but… _did _he ever hurt you?" the statement stunned her. _He…_ Zuko. Had he hurt her? She looked down. _Ba Sing Se…_ she didn't reply. Boon got up and left.

She felt an ache in her chest. Betrayal. The wound was still there. Even after all this time she still remembered how much it had hurt when she saw him race into the room, shooting fire at her and Aang. _I thought you had changed._

* * *

After he sat down Shoji had gone to practice with the others. He'd seen that Zuko wasn't going to do anything. So the prince watched from the shadows while the other practiced. Some were terrible. Most were adequate. Few were good. There was maybe one or two who could compete with Zuko's own skill. When the firebenders stopped playing with knives and swords and actually practiced their bending he saw that they were rather competent fighters. Their downfall was that they spent all of their time only on firebending and not enough time on hand to hand combat. Still, as long as they could firebend, he suspected they would do alright in the arena.

Shoji was good with the ax. He was thick and fairly agile for someone his size… but he wasn't fast enough. There was a skinny man with a scar on his neck and a full beard that could use a knife with skill. One tall man was excellent with a bow. A broad shouldered young man was decent with a blade. There were two bald men who appeared to be related that could wield maces with accuracy. Zuko studied them. His possible allies, his possible enemies. Their advantages. Their weaknesses. How they worked as people and not just as warriors. There was a lot of variety with them, but Zuko noticed one thing that they shared: they were all determined to get out of here.

After a time he decided he could be doing more to help himself. So he shifted himself onto his stomach and dug his hands into the ground. He pushed himself off of the ground… then down… up, down, up, down. And all the while he watched them. Some of them glanced over to him. Others stared. Some didn't notice at all.

When he rolled onto his back to do sit ups he saw that what little shade the building had offered was almost gone. Noon was coming; fast. And without a shirt or shoes, it wasn't going to be pleasant for the exiled prince. He tried not to think about it. Instead he continued to lift his head to his knees and kept control of his muscles as he worked.

The firebender got lucky. Just before all of his shade disappeared one of the guards opened the grate like door and walked into the arena.

"Alright, everyone, time to move." And so they were herded from the hot courtyard into a huge indoor room. It was fairly near the courtyard so it offered the prisoners little chance to escape. Especially if one were to consider the dozen or so guards that were on watch and the fact that all of the weapons had been confiscated and put away in the cart to be removed. The prisoners were lined up and shackled together. Zuko's mind was still going through the things he had learned about his fellow captives: who would be a good ally in battle, who would be trustworthy, which of them would die the quickest or would be most likely to stab him in the back…

The line of prisoners was about halfway to the room when all of a sudden one of them broke free and ran. He sprinted away from the line and towards the door. All of the prisoners stopped to watch the fleeing captive. He was almost around the corner when a javelin sprouted from his back and he collapsed. Zuko winced. It seemed like a painful death.

And then, just like that, they continued on. No one said anything. There were no warnings of what would happen to other escapees. Nothing. They just… kept walking. Even Zuko, battle hardened as he was, couldn't help think it a bit disconcerting.

When all of the prisoners had gathered in the large room and the doors had been closed and barred they were released. Light and fresh air came in through high windows and openings in the ceiling. It was so much cooler than it had been in the courtyard where even in the shadows it had been hot. If the exiled prince had to guess, he would say this was a dining hall. This idea was only reinforced by the fact that there were several long tables with bowls of food set on them.

Without question the prisoners sat down and began to eat the shapeless grey mush. Zuko's cringed, and withdrew. It smelled disgusting. It looked disgusting. His stomach growled. He clenched his gut, attempting to cease the noise. He was hungry… the last thing he'd eaten was half of that apple last night. And he'd been exercising all morning. But it looked so… disgusting.

"You'd better eat something, Prince," a familiar voice said behind him, "lest it be eaten for you." He turned to see Shoji there, a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. Zuko glanced back to the table. He could never remember eating anything so repulsive.

"I'd rather not," he said; even when he'd been pretending to be an Earth Kingdom peasant he'd eaten better than this slop.

"You need to keep up your strength," the older man told him. "The Bah'Kre Tribe is supposed to be here sometime tonight. That means we fight tomorrow. If you won't practice, you should at least eat." As much as Zuko hated to admit it, the old man was right. He needed to have something to keep him going. He moved to pick up an untouched bowl from the table. He frowned as he disturbed the contents with his spoon.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Shoji said reassuringly. With a bit of hope the exiled prince lifted the mush laden spoon to his mouth… and nearly choked it back out. After a moment of gagging he managed to make himself swallow.

"You're right," he said distastefully, "it's worse."

He sat down and talked with Shoji and met a few other prisoners. Zuko told them he'd been travelling when he'd been ambushed. They discussed meaningless things, like their favorite Fire Nation food or festival, or what their favorite play was, or what they considered good music. The prince mostly listened. He didn't want these men learning any more about him than they had to, and he didn't want to be caught in his own web of lies. It was better to remain silent.

After a time the food was taken away and the weapons brought back in. The others practiced. Zuko used wall hangings to do pull ups, pushed the heavy tables around, ran up and down the stairs that led to the doors and other forms of exercise.

Finally they were lined up and shackled, just as they had been when they'd moved to the dining hall. The firebending youth was exhausted. His head was full of information about his opponents and his still not fully recovered muscles screamed from the recent stress they'd been put under. So the walk to the underground dungeons passed in a blur.

There were no torches on the walls. Instead the sandbenders had lanterns filled with what Zuko presumed were fireflies. He paid little attention to arched ceiling or metal bars that made up the dungeon. He was barely half conscious when his guard kicked him into one of the cells and was even less aware when another bowl of slop was slid in after him. Before he picked up the food he noticed a worn, tan, sleeveless shirt, new, brown trousers, and, thank Agni, shoes. The exiled prince managed to force his aching limbs to take off his dirty pants and dress into the new clothes. His sun-damaged skin burned where it met fabric, but he was so relieved to have something to wear he couldn't bring himself to care.

After dressing he grabbed his bowl of slop and managed to choke it down. Then… water—Only one cup of water. He drank so quickly that it streamed down his chin and around his mouth. When he was done he felt a note of disappointment at not having more, but he was too tired to care much. He stumbled for the bed of hay in the corner of the cell and fell into comforting darkness.

* * *

He had no idea what time it was when he woke. The cell had no windows and the fireflies in the hallway were gone. As far as he knew, all of the guards were gone. But… someone was here. They had woken him.

"Who's there?" he called out, eyes searching through the darkness. He couldn't see anything! Was this how it was for Toph all the time? How did she possibly cope! Another scuffle. Rats? Instinct told him no. There was a person in his cell. One of the other prisoners? Unlikely. If they were a friend of his, they'd have spoken up.

Zuko stood up. Even though his hands were shackled (the guards didn't want him to melt the bars of his cell) he managed to snap his fingers and call forth a tiny flame. It gave him enough light to see…

Boon.

"Hello, bastard," then the sandbender's fist collided with Zuko's jaw.


	10. Judge and Jury

**Judge & Jury**

**Disclaimer:** If I owned A:TLA Santa would stop getting letters from me.

**Rating: **T for violence! And some coarse language.

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They mean a lot!**

**All those who are thirsting for Boon's blood will be pleased with this chapter. ;) **

**VampireinDisguise: **I like how you think. But such is not the case in this instance.

**ManUGirl: **Have a heart, now. Boon is nice to Katara. _He_ isn't really keeping her prisoner, his people are. He's kind of dense and a little misguided, but his intentions are good. And just out of curiosity, have you heard of Stockholm Syndrome? But anyway, it's okay, Boon's just there for the drama. This is a Zutara fic, after all. :)

**Sokkantylee:** Haha, we'll see. The arena doesn't come for a few chapters still though; we have to deal with Boon drama right now.

**Bridget Friste: ** Well there is plenty of ass-kicking. And don't worry, he loses the shirt pretty quickly. xD

**Reviews = Happier writer. What do happy writers do? Write. Do you see how this works? **

* * *

Stars exploded in Zuko's eyes as Boon's fist made contact with his jaw. He fell back, caught off guard; his mind whirled. _Boon's in my cell beating me up. What are my options? Fight back. Do nothing. Try and distract him. Call for a guard. Avoid him._

"Boon—" Zuko said as he straightened. But before he could say any more, he felt rough hands grab the front of his shirt and within the space of a ragged breath a fist collided with his face, dislodging anything he might've said. It didn't seem like talking would work as a distraction. Could he call a guard? No… even if one did come they would probably just watch and laugh. Evasion? No, Boon's fingers were wound too tightly in the fabric of his shirt. Besides, there wasn't enough room in the cell to avoid the other teenager.

That left fighting.

Boon's fist collided with his jaw once more. The exiled prince could taste the blood in his mouth—hot and metallic, like molten copper. It slid down his throat and he choked, coughing it up. His blood might've hit Boon, but in the dark he couldn't be sure.

Another cough wasted his precious time. His muscles were still weak and he had little endurance. Everything ached from his earlier work out. He had to take Boon out soon, or not at all. It seemed that Zuko's body knew this was true; he heard the faintest brush of air as Boon's arm reloaded. Without conscious thought, Zuko's arm was up and blocking the fourth assault.

Opposite him, the prince heard the other bender grunt in surprise. He took the temporary pause to force his shackled hands upwards; in doing so he forced Boon's hand to relinquish its hold on his shirt. He took the opportunity to lift the chain of his shackles up and over so they pressed on the back of the sandbender's neck. Just as Boon realized what was going on and began struggling, Zuko slammed his knee into his opponent's gut. The bender groaned as the air rushed out of his lungs. If he hadn't been so _busy_ a small sense of victory would've rushed through the exiled prince.

Without pausing, he shifted his strong, wiry fingers to grab Boon's head. It was easier because the bender's long hair allowed him to gain leverage. Then he pulled. Face met knee. There was an audible and loud _pop_ that Zuko had to assume was Boon's nose, breaking.

With cold light in his eyes the exiled prince moved his hands to wrap them around his opponent's neck. Boon panicked and tried to pull away. When he realized that the chains of Zuko's shackles prevented him from escape he thrashed violently. _There's no sand for you to bend in here,_ the firebender thought coldly.

Then he felt pain explode between his legs as the other bender kneed him in the groin. The prince's legs buckled and he went down. Boon fell, pulled down by the chain at the back of his neck that connected him to Zuko. Boon was the first to recover. While on his knees he reached forward blindly and grabbed Zuko's neck; he took the next moment to slam his fist into the prince's gut. Zuko, however, had been expecting this. He tensed before impact and the blow did little except as a distraction. It gave the sandbender the time he needed to push the firebender's shackles back over his head (releasing the pressure from the back of his neck) and pin his hands over Zuko's neck.

And now that he was free he stood. Having felt his hands being removed and hearing the scuffle he knew Boon had gotten up, Zuko too began to rise but he wasn't quick enough.

The enemy bender's surprisingly well aimed kick hit him right in the ribs and pain lanced through his side.

"This for her, you bastard!" the bender growled, speaking for the first time since he'd entered the cell. "This is for the pain you put her through!" Another kick. Zuko's body struggled to fight back, but his mind was distracted by what Boon said. _For her… for the pain…_ he couldn't be talking about anyone but Katara. The pain? What pain? What had he done? He'd never hurt Katara. She was his friend. She was the one who was keeping him sane in this alien environment.

Another blow to his ribs. His vision was clouding as the blood rushed away from his brain.

"You sick, twisted little _fuck_," Boon swore viciously as he continued to inflict damage to Zuko's ribs. "You're never going to hurt her again!" _hurt… does he mean… did she tell him about Ba Sing Se?_ The memory hurt him more than any of Boon's blows had. The look on Katara's face when he had appeared and how it had fallen so dramatically when he shot flames at her and Aang. _Pain._ Extreme and justified pain. Betrayal. _Of course you hurt her… she had thought you'd changed… you stabbed her in the back. Just like you stabbed Uncle. _That made a part of him think that maybe he deserved this beating. This was justice.

"No!" he cried out suddenly and lifted his shackled hands to catch Boon's foot. "I've changed!" He growled as he twisted and threw his opponent's balance off. _I didn't change __just__ to help the Avatar,_ he realized suddenly. _I changed to redeem myself. For Uncle._ He moved quickly when Boon fell. The firebender untangled his hands from the other bender's ankle before he moved to sit on top of his opponent. With his legs he pinned down the youth's arms. Then he stretched out the chain at his wrists and pressed it against Boon's throat. The other teen had been successfully pinned to the cold floor of Zuko's cell.

_For Katara._

"Guard," Boon cried out weakly. "Guard!" Zuko pressed harder to shut Boon up. He wasn't going to kill the other boy, but he wanted to force him into unconsciousness.

However, before the exiled prince could accomplish the task the hallway lit up. He could hear the frantic sound of feet scraping against stone and sand. Iron met iron as a key was hastily shoved into a lock. Voices spoke urgently. Zuko barely registered any of it.

"I'll never hurt her again," he hissed lowly so that only the sandbender boy could hear him. The prince saw the fear on his opponents face. Instead of relishing it like he used to, he just felt cold, hard determination. "And I'll keep her safe. I'll start by getting rid of creeps like you who think they know everything about her." Boon's dark eyes widened and his mouth moved, but no words came out. He looked like a fish out of water. His face was turning a sickly blue from lack of oxygen.

Then, just as the sandbender was going limp under Zuko's grip, a sharp pain in his head knocked the firebender into oblivion.

* * *

She woke to the sound of running feet and fretful voices. Lights danced in the hallway and shone through the tattered blanket she'd hung up in the doorway. Concerned by the activity, Katara sat up in her bed and threw her legs over the edge. The voices were getting louder.

With an anxious look on her face she pushed back her blankets and grabbed a robe from her bedside. Someone must have been hurt. Just as she finished wrapping the robe around herself a group of three sandbenders hurried into the room bearing a stretcher.

"Miss," one of the benders started, "he's been hurt—"

"Put him on one of the cots," she replied without bothering to hear the rest of the story. Whoever was on that stretcher needed help now and she could wait for the explanations. While the group of sandbenders settled the victim on the cot she hurriedly opened the wooden barrel containing fresh water. She quickly grabbed a bowl and filled it with the pure liquid before she went to him.

What met her eyes nearly caused her drop the bowl.

Boon…

Bloody, beaten and bruised.

Suddenly, she was a little more interested in knowing what happened.

"How did this happen?" she asked the three sandbenders as she leaned down by her unconscious friend's side. He was quite the sight with deep purple bruises creating a necklace at his throat, blood speckled on his face and streaming from a crooked nose, torn and wrinkled clothes from what could've only been a fight…

"He went into one of the prisoner's cells," one of them said as she tore open Boon's shirt. Fortunately he wasn't that badly injured there. Just some bruises on his stomach. He must've been winded. "We heard him yelling, but didn't suspect anything. Sometimes our tribesmen go down there to take out their anger on the prisoners. After a while it got real quiet… and then Phi here—he's got real good hearing—he heard the kid call out 'guards', so we went down and he was being strangled. We barely managed to save him. As it is he passed out cold."

"Oh Boon," she lamented as she held her water covered hands over his stomach. The bruising there began to lighten and heal; her hands then moved to his neck.

"Is… is he going to be alright, Miss?" One of the benders asked. She could tell all three of them were worried. Maybe sandbenders were hardened and cruel towards outsiders, but when it came to their own, they were like a family. Katara didn't reply immediately; she was trying to assess the damage done to his neck. After several long seconds, she spoke up.

"He should make a full recovery." All three of them relaxed and let out shared sighs of relief.

"Thank the gods," one said. "He's going to be fine." While they shared their relief she went about healing the damage done to his neck. It had been bruised pretty badly. They were lucky she was here… if his throat was left unattended he'd speak with a rasp in his voice for the rest of his life. Carefully she touched his neck and tried to soothe the irritated skin. It took some time, but eventually the purple bruises began to die away. It was then that she realized the bruises formed little rings… like chains.

"Who was the prisoner he attacked?" she asked in a choked voice, barely managing to keep the dread from her tone.

"It was that new guy," one of them sneered. "I think they're calling him Prince," She inhaled sharply. _Zuko._

"Can you grab me that rag?" she asked as she tried to keep her voice calm. One of the benders nodded and offered it to her. She wet it and began to wipe away the dried blood at Boon's nose and upper lip.

"Do you know what he did?" she asked carefully. "To upset Boon, I mean."

The trio looked from one to another as they considered it. Katara waited in strained silence. She worked at cleaning the specks of blood off of Boon's face while the others thought… _specks of Zuko's blood_…?

"Not really sure," they finally replied. "But Phi says he heard Boon yelling, 'This is for her,' and 'this is for the pain you put her through', and things along those lines." She froze. _Oh no, Boon. I didn't actually _say_ he'd hurt me! That was uncalled for!_ She would have some words for him when he came to. As she thought about what she'd say she reached forward and snapped Boon's nose back into place. The others winced. She would've too, but she knew that her friend was unconscious and felt none of this.

His nose was fixed, his face was clean, his bruises healed, his neck as repaired as it was going to be by her hands at the moment…

"Who's looking after… the prisoner?" she asked as she bent the water out of the rag. She couldn't look them in the eye when she asked.

"Prince?" One of them replied. "He's at the Posts."

"Posts?" she said lightly as she stood up and put the rag and bowl back.

"Yeah. Sashain's furious with him for hurting Boon. He's getting some fifty lashes."

"_Lashes?_" Katara yelped, dropping the bowl she hadn't yet set down. The sandbenders looked confused at her alarm. "Where are the Posts? Take me to them!" she cried out. She had to get to Zuko. _What about Boon?_ She glanced over at him. He'd be fine; he just needed rest. Besides, he was the one who had started all of this.

"He's… this way," one of the benders said, and began towards the door. She grabbed her med kit (which was basically a water skin and bandages) and hurried after him.

"C'mon, I don't have all day! Run!" She demanded. She had to hurry. She couldn't let Zuko go through that kind of pain because of a stupid overreaction Boon had had. _Or was it an overreaction? You never told him what Zuko did… maybe he thought it was justified. _No… no, what the prince had done at Ba Sing Se didn't merit a torture like this. He'd suffered enough. _I need to forgive him._

* * *

Frigid water splashed over him and brought him back to consciousness. He wished it hadn't. The cold shock made him start, but he didn't gasp or cry out. _I can't move my arms…_ he thought mildly as he lifted his head. He was exhausted. He was too tired to even open his eyes the whole way; through hooded lids he viewed the mass of people before him. _The other prisoners…_ he realized after a moment. There was also a scattering of sandbenders. Possibly guards. Possibly there to view… view whatever was going to happen to him. For surely they were here to view _something_ related to Zuko; they were all staring at him.

A heartbeat later a sandbender with dusty blond hair appeared in front of Zuko.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he said with a cruel grin on his face. The exiled prince said nothing. He watched silently as the other man reached up to where the firebender's arms were tied to a thick, wooden post. "Gotta make sure they're good'n tight," he said with a malicious chuckle as he pulled the belts that bound Zuko's wrists even tighter. He couldn't feel his hands. After he was sure the first one was tight, he checked the other one. Then he stood in front of the prince and rested his hands on his hips before looking down at his feet. Only then did the firebender realized his ankles had been wrapped in weighted chains to keep him from kicking out… not that he could anyway. He was too weak.

"Looks like you're ready for the big event, Sunshine!" Zuko spat a mixture of saliva and blood at the man. He just chuckled and walked off of the stone platform.

"You've been gathered here, in the dead of night, to be shown that no crime you commit under us will go unpunished. All of you already know the rules; I don't have to repeat them to you. If you break them… you'll end up like Prince," the voice was Sashain. She was telling the other prisoners… she was making an example of Zuko! "He's here to pay for his crimes against one of our own. He injured one of my tribesmen, and for this we pass judgment." _Maybe you should tell them about how he snuck into my cell,_ the prince thought bitterly, _or how I was only acting out of self-defense?_ But Sashain brought up neither of those points. Instead she turned her head and nodded to someone that Zuko couldn't see.

"Crime: Assault. Verdict: Guilty. Punishment: Fifty lashes…Alright. Go ahead." The exiled prince didn't even turn his head to try and see who that last order may have been directed at. _Whatever they're going to do, let it be fast, let it be bearable._

But after the first strike of lancing pain was followed moments later by another, he realized this was to be neither fast nor bearable.

* * *

Swish, snap, crack. Swish, snap, crack. She could hear the noise reverberating off the walls. Her heart raced and her stomach felt tense. _Rise, bring it forward and hit flesh._ They'd already started. _Hurry, hurry__!_ She raced towards the room, in time with the sandbender who had offered to guide her. She knew that he was confused as to why she was so urgent, but she didn't care to explain. There was no time.

When she finally entered the open courtyard, the first thing she saw was Zuko's emaciated back. It already looked like ground up tigerseal meat. It was sickening. His wrists were tightly bound to two posts so they were stretched out to their full extent and slightly above his head. His feet were weighted with some sort of chain, but she doubted that mattered. He looked like he was resting all of his weight on his wrists; his legs had long since given out. His head hung. She couldn't see his face. His blood streaked down his naked back and pooled around his legs on the stone floor. Some of it trickled off of the podium and around the mass of Fire Nation prisoners that were gathered around at the front. They couldn't see his back directly. _It's because the sandbenders want them to see the pain on Zuko's face,_ she realized suddenly. The whole display was disgusting.

"Stop!" She cried out after the initial shock had worn off. "Stop this right now!" she cried out. She didn't care that she was speaking out to her captors and an array of prisoners from a nation that hated her. All that was on her mind right now was Zuko.

Surprisingly enough, the man ceased whipping the prince and the crowd all turned their eyes on her. Katara swallowed roughly at being put on the spot. _Don't back out,_ she told herself. She had to do this. So without saying further she walked up the stairs and onto the podium. With no hesitation she crossed the stone floor to the exiled prince.

Saying he looked terrible was an understatement. Blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. His face was purple with bruises from where he'd been hit repeatedly. And his ribs on his left side… it was as if someone had thrown rotten blackberries all over him. He wasn't necessarily any better off than Boon had been, but he wasn't doing much better. The battle had been close. Her heart ached for Zuko. He'd just gone from one danger to the next. He'd practiced hard and long all day (or at least she'd been told that's what the prisoners did at the arenas before battles) and without fully recovered muscles, too. Then he'd been forced into a fight on little food and with weakened limbs. _He's so strong. He was at a major disadvantage, and he still managed to take __down__ Boon. _

"Zuko…" she said, too softly for anyone else to hear. She gently reached forward and cupped his face in her hands. His skin was pale from bloodloss and hot and sweaty under her cool fingers.

"K…Katara?" he said so weakly that she barely heard him. His yellow eyes flicked under his hooded lids.

"Yeah, it's me," she replied, attempting a reassuring smile. She lifted one of her hands from his cheek to push aside the sweat drenched hair stuck to his forehead. He was dangerously close to a fever.

"He said I hurt you," Zuko said, and though his voice wasn't very strong he sounded urgent. "He said… Agni, I'm so sorry, Katara," he whispered… practically whimpered. "Please… please…" he was too addled to form a sentence. She felt wracked with sorrow. He didn't deserve this.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Zuko, don't worry," she said gently before she moved away from him. She had to untie his hands.

"No… don't go!" he cried out as loud as he could, and actually managed to summon the strength to stand up. He was desperate.

"It's okay, Zuzu, I'm right here," she said from his side. He calmed at hearing her voice. She reached up and began to unbuckle the belt that bound his hand.

"Katara… are you going to explain what's going on here?" Sashain called out from her position to the side of the crowd. _Took her long enough, _Katara thought. Without looking over the waterbender replied;

"He doesn't deserve this." The belt was too hard to unbuckle from her position… she opened her water skin and slashed the bindings. She didn't see the glances exchanged between the flogger and the leader. _Should I stop her?_ He questioned. A shake of the head. _No._

"He nearly killed Boon," Sashain replied calmly. "If the guards hadn't arrived in time, he probably would have died." That sent a shudder through Katara. _Would Zuko really kill Boon?_ She glanced at his pale, scarred, desperate face. _No… he wouldn't. Boon provoked him. He must have just been defending himself._

"Well, he didn't," she replied. "And you're killing _him._ Can't you see he's had enough?"

"He still had another twenty lashes to endure," Sashain replied as Katara cut down Zuko's other hand. He nearly fell to the floor, but she managed to catch him. The waterbender didn't care that his blood was getting all over her robe.

"Not anymore," she replied firmly. "You there," she caught the eyes of one of the guards. "Get me a stretcher!" she barked. He glanced back at Sashain. She nodded. He left.

"You're gonna be okay, Zuzu," she said softly. It felt ridiculous calling him 'Zuzu'… and yet somehow right. More right than Kuzon.

"K-… I'm sorry," he whispered. She put a finger to his lips.

"Don't try to speak," she said softly. "I know you're sorry. It's okay." She smiled gently. "I forgive you." He seemed to relax at that; his eyes shut and he let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Moments later a stretcher arrived. She put Zuko on it; stomach down. Then with the help of two sandbenders she carried the bloody prince back to her room where she could tend to his wounds.


	11. Saving Grace

**Saving Grace**

**Disclaimer:** I write Avatar for free… but if one of you were to pay me..! jk, Bryke wouldn't like that.

**Rating: **T for violence and language

**Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They mean a lot!**

**VampireinDisguise: **Thanks~ I thought it would fit them well, too. Haha you and me both; I have no idea where I'm taking this. xD

**EagleCodex:** Fighting scenes can be difficult to follow, I admit. Thanks for bearing with me and reading it though. :)

**BridgetFirste: **Don't feel bad. I'm kind of fond of Boon myself… although I suppose I have to be, since I write him. And Boon meets (some) justice in this chap. Haha I'm delighted that you like it so much! Part of the reason I love to write is because other people enjoy it.

**ManUGirl: **Okay, okay. I can see where you're coming from. And thanks! The ones that are simply romances tend to bore me so I have to throw some action in there.

**xReza: **Hello relatively-new-reader! (I saw relatively since I've been kind of slow on updates xP) Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad their relationship seems realistic…ish

**SokkanTylee: **Wow. All I can say is this review made my day. Thank you. :)

**AmieBean: **Ah, oops. Well I'd love to hear any ideas that you do have! Feel free to PM me whenever.

**Thanks to all of you for your patience! I'm sorry I can't reply to all of your reviews (there are so many now!) and I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I was on vacation almost all of August and my beta started school a few weeks ago. Even though school has started for me I'm going to try and update as much as possible.**

**The other reason updates are taking so long is because I have begun to write an original novel. It's a Steampunk Fairytale with a thief called Salem and a Princess named Aurora. In fact their personalities are kind of like Zuko and Katara. If you'd like to read it, feel free to give Velspar(dot)Deviantart(dot)com a visit. :)**

**Reviews = Happier writer. What do happy writers do? Write. Do you see how this works? **

* * *

_A rotting, sickly stench reached his nose and he cringed. What was that smell? An armadillo saber-tooth? That's what it was, what it had to be. And it was heading straight for Zuko. Teeth bared. He backed up and his mind searched for an answer to this predicament, a way out of the situation. He was weaponless. Defenseless. He had nothing on him but his clothes. His surroundings? A quick glance told him that he was trapped in a circular arena with smooth walls over twelve feet high and the ground was made of sand. There were no weapons nearby. There was nothing but sand, walls, and, now, his looming death. _

_Desperate, the fire prince reached down and picked up a handful of sand. Maybe he could blind the creature? Except once he had the earth in his hand he saw that the armadillo saber tooth was gone. In its place stood…_

_Katara._

_He blinked. Then she was gone, and the creature was back. It snarled viciously and lashed out with one paw, it's hooked claws snatching at the air mere inches in front of Zuko and created small rips in his shirt. He backed up just in time to avoid injury. Then he hurled the handful of sand at the animal's eyes. As soon as the sand hit the creature it roared in pain and reared back. It lashed out wildly and backed up. The prince once again searched for an escape. There had to be a way out of this… he looked back at the cat. Maybe if he could vault himself off of the creature, he could get out of this damned arena. It was risky, but at the moment it was the only plan he had. _

_So he moved towards the hybrid feline. He yelled and screamed and tried acting like he wasn'tnearly paralyzed with fear. Maybe if the creature thought he was a threat it would back off; it worked, sort of... The armadillo saber- tooth roared and began to shuffle backwards… back towards the wall. In a moment its rear hit the wall. It stopped, but the prince still came. It pressed itself closer to wall and turned so that its side touched it as well. Perfect, he thought. _

_Without stopping to think how crazy this was, the firebender jumped on the creature's shelled back. Then, in an impulsive moment, he reached down and tugged on the animal's ears. Hard. It roared and then reared which gave him the height he needed. I can do this, he told himself, and then pushed. He lifted into the air and his fingers caught the edge of the wall. Yes! Now to pull himself up._

_But before he could do that a hot lance of pain shot down his back: torturous, sharp, searing agony. He cried out and lost his grip, falling to the ground. He fell roughly on side; whatever had caused the pain was helping him down. His ribs were bruised. His back… it had been clawed at by the animal. Blood pooled all around him._

_He tried to breath, but the wind was knocked out of him. He couldn't bring himself to move. He was in so much pain. _

_Within in moments the creature stood over him, panting heavily as is began to inspect him. Its huge, blue eyes opened and looked down to meet Zuko's molten gold ones. It leaned in closer, as if fascinated by its prey. Did it mean him harm? It didn't look dangerous anymore. Just curious and…innocent. _

_That didn't make him hesitate when stabbing the animal in its back._

_When a dagger appeared in his hand, Zuko reached up, without thought, and plunged it into the animal, just above where the shell stopped protecting its flesh. He buried it deeper and deeper until it hit the creature's heart._

_He watched with satisfaction as those blue eyes drained of life._

_Relief flooded him as the animal lost control of its limbs and fell on him. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily. He'd killed it. He was okay. He'd survived the arena. Now all he had to do was get this stupid cat off of him and go see Katara to heal the scratches on his back._

_But… the weight on top of him didn't feel very much like what he'd imagine a heavy armadillo cat's would. It was too light. He opened his eyes._

_And choked._

_Katara lay on him, blood dripping down her back. She rested her elbows on his chest and stared at him with disapproval and sadness in her cold, dead eyes._

_"Why'd you do it, Zuko?" she asked. "Why did you stab me in the back?"_

_"Please… forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Katara, it was a mistake!"_

_"I'm dead because of you," she snapped, no mercy in her voice. In the next second she was motionless against his chest._

_"KATARA!"_

* * *

"_KATARA!_" If he'd been lying on his back he would have bolted upright. Instead he was facing down and instinctively rolled onto his side… and immediately regretted it.

"Kuzon!" The familiar voice could only be Katara's. Spots of light were flashing before the prince's eyes as pain electrified his body.

"Ohhhh Spirits," he moaned, and allowed the firm hands to push him back down against the mattress. His body was wracked with a cough, but that simply sent more pain through him. He hurt all over. His back felt as if it were on fire. He didn't think he could breathe properly; it hurt his ribs too much to do so.

"It's going to be okay, Zuzu," she said softly. In the next moment he felt her cool hands slide onto his ribs. Instinctively he gasped, expecting pain to prickle him. Instead he felt… relief. Ease. A sigh escaped his lips and he closed his gold eyes.

"Don't stop," he said with genuine longing.

"Now don't get too crazy over there," a bitter and familiar voice said, ruining the moment, causing Zuko to push himself up on his forearms.

"_Kuzon,_" Katara said harshly as the fire prince narrowed his eyes at the sandbender teen who was propped up against a wall with his legs stretched out across his cot. A quick glance around the stone room was enough to tell him that there were several guards there as well. It now made sense why she was calling him Kuzon and Zuzu.

"Why's he here?" Zuko asked in a raspy voice. He refused to lie flat against the mattress again with Boon in the room. Instead he continued to rest on his forearms and glare at the other youth.

"You and I got into a little tussle," Boon replied hotly. "Or can't you remember? Did they hit your head too hard? Aww, poor baby," the bender said with as much animosity as he could surrender. Enough was enough. The firebender ignored his pain and moved to sit up straight and swing his legs over the edge of the mattress—

"_Kuzon, you're in enough trouble already_," Katara hissed at him. He turned to look at her blue eyes. Those eyes… the same eyes he'd seen drain of life. He choked, and nodded, unable to get words out; he lay back down. "And Boon, keep your fat mouth shut," she added with a disdainful look in the other boy's direction. "You're the one who started all of this."

"_I _started it?" He protested, "_he_ was the one who hurt you!"

"I forgave him for it," she replied firmly. "And you didn't stop to ask me, did you? You just… _assumed_ and then made the wrong choices because of it." He could tell from the way that she spoke Katara was really pissed at Boon. Part of Zuko couldn't help but feel victorious. She was mad at Boon and she was tending Zuko's wounds and worrying over him, like he really mattered. He felt cared for and… loved…

The thought surprised him when it came, but it felt true. Maybe it was just a friendship love, but it was love none the less, and it pleased and warmed his heart.

* * *

Anger **c**onsumed her: She was in enemy territory, so she kept the fact to herself (mostly) but she thought that Boon thoroughly deserved having the shit beaten out of him. He had been ignorant and judgmental and reckless, and now her friend was paying for his bad decision.

_Isn't part of this your fault?_ She asked herself as she pulled out a powder and mixed it into a cup of water. _You were the one who didn't think to stop Boon earlier. You didn't think anything was wrong._ A pang of guilt hit her. _I'll make it up to him,_ she decided as she moved around to offer him the solution.

"Zuzu," she said softly, "I need you to drink this." She wanted to anesthetize all the pain he held but, for now, she would numb what he would endure when she began another healing session on his marred back. He looked up at her, his piercing golden eyes meeting her own in a question. _Why?_ But she wouldn't tell him. She feared that if he knew he would try to put on a tough face and get by without it. She didn't want him to suffer any more than he already had.

"Just trust me," she said whispered. He looked down at the cup in her hand dubiously for a moment, shrugged and drank it in one go. She smiled at him, and he lay back down against the mattress. Now to mix the herbs in some water and work on healing his back…

"Kuzon?" She said to him as she began another mixture, this time in a bowl. "Are you asleep?" she asked.

"…No," he replied quietly.

"Well, Boon is." She told him and glanced over to the other boy who had curled up in his bed and fallen asleep. Apparently watching Katara heal Zuko wasn't very thrilling. "Hey… uhm, what was your dream about…?" she asked as she settled her water gloved hands on his back. Maybe if she could keep him talking he wouldn't think about his pain.

"My… dream?" he repeated softly.

"Yeah," she said, "you woke up screaming my name." She felt his muscles tense underneath his skin but assumed it was a reaction to the pain

"It was… nothing."

"Are you sure? It didn't sound like nothing," she told him as she went about her healing. She was trying to fully restore his skin; she'd managed to stop the bleeding when she'd first gotten him to her room, but the minor wounds occasionally leaked. "You can tell me if you need to, Zuzu. I won't judge you for it." The nickname felt more and more familiar on her tongue every time she used it.

"I…" he was still hesitant. "It was… like Ba Sing Se. In the cave. But… worse. More violent." He said, sounding sick with himself. Did he felt guilty? "You… I… I really hurt you, Katara," he said, sounding really upset. How could he get so upset over a dream?

"It was just a dream," she told him softly. "It doesn't matter. Besides, I forgave you, remember?" No, he probably didn't remember. He must have been nearly unconscious when she told him, probably a little delirious too. He'd been bleeding pretty heavily when she had finally shown up to cut him down.

When she thought about it, she really did forgive him. In her eyes, he had redeemed himself. He'd searched for her in the desert without any food or water. He had fought and taken a beating by the sandbenders, but at least it had reunited them. He carried her things and endured Boon. He would be going into an arena to fight for his life. He'd fought with Boon and dealt with thirty lashes (among other injuries) to pay for it. He wouldn't risk escaping without her. And so far no Azula or other Fire Nation soldiers had shown up to save him. By now she had to admit it was undeniable that Zuko was on their side.

And she was grateful for it.

* * *

As she worked on his back the Fire Prince rested his cheek on his arms. Through half closed eyes he noticed that she had already healed all the damage done to his wrists. They'd been red and the skin had chafed from wear against his metal shackles and then the thick leather belts. His wrists weren't completely perfect, however. The wounds were faint pink marks. _Are they going to scar?_ He couldn't help but wonder. _Am I going to look like an ex-slave for the rest of my life?_ He didn't know why the thought bothered him so much. The fact that he was exiled outcast was marked with a blatant warning sign on his face.

He sighed softly, and decided to try and relax. _Think of something else._ Katara's hands on his wounded back. Surprisingly, they didn't hurt. In fact it felt—_Something besides her hands! _But try as he might he always came back to the Water Tribe girl and her smooth, gentle, careful hands. _Those hands in my hair, her breath against my cheek, her body—_Oh Spirits, no. This was not happening to him. He was _not_ fantasizing about her. No. He wouldn't accept that.

He didn't go back to fantasizing about her, but his thoughts remained on the girl.

_She came to rescue me,_ he realized suddenly. _She saved me. She may have even saved my life._ He was hit with the sudden urge to get up and pull her in to an embrace. At the same time, he felt humiliated. He couldn't save himself. This…. Waterbender had had to.

In the end he said nothing.

* * *

Sleep had claimed Zuko about halfway through the healing process. She didn't wake him. Especially since this sleep seemed peaceful, versus his fitful nightmares from earlier. _What could make him cry out like that?_ She still thought it was weird that he had said her name. _Weird… or cute?_ She quieted the voice. The Fire Prince was nothing more than a friend. _That's still an upgrade from 'acquaintance'._

Well, she trusted him now. She had forgiven him. He had asked—_begged_ for her forgiveness and she had given it to him. And his dream… he said it had been violent. It was like Ba Sing Se. It had really upset him. Did bringing harm to her really scare him so much? _Remember how he snapped at Boon? And then they had that whole fight about you! They had a fight over protecting __**you!**_ No… _Boon fought with Zuko because he thought that he had hurt you. Zuko… he was just defending himself._ But was he really? Or had there been some other reason? Something about her? She sighed, tired of the empty holes that diseased the event. Maybe she could ask Zuko when he woke up.

While she worked at cleaning up his meat slab of a back, she noticed his cheek rested against the bed so that his scarred eye was visible. Barely. It was fringed with layers of his thick black hair. Katara reached forward impulsively, and before a real thought had even fully formed in her mind she was gently pushing back the thick strands of hair. _What am I doing?_ She asked herself. The waterbender didn't have an answer. She also didn't stop. His hair was coarse. It was warm. It was as thick as it looked. Past all the blood and sweat, he smelled faintly of sandalwood and wood smoke. It was barely strong enough to make it past the overwhelming oppression of the gore from his back, but it was there. It reminded her sharply of camp, and a pang of loss hit her. She missed Aang. She missed Toph and Sokka. She missed Appa and Momo. She missed sitting around the fire and listening to them complain about… the food, the campsite, the fire nation, anything. She smiled at the thought. They also joked about everything under the stars. They told stories and acted out scenes and enjoyed each other's company. Well, all of them except for Zuko… he usually sat off to the side. He ate by himself and usually went for a walk after he finished. He wasn't very close.

But he'd been trying. Recently he'd been coming closer and closer, sort of like he was trying to ease his way in. He'd make a remark about a story here or there… although the first few times he did it everyone went silent and stared at him because it seemed so out of character.

_He's trying,_ she thought as she traced his scar. _He wants us to trust him. He wants to help._

"Waterbender," a voice caused Katara to look up. Guilt was plastered all over her face. She should've been working on healing Zuko's back. Instead she was brushing back his hair, tracing his scar and thinking about how selfless he seemed.

"…Girl," Sashain said again, her eyes filled with disgust as her gaze fell on Katara's hand, which was still dangerously close to the Fire Prince's face. The waterbender didn't have to ask to know what question Sashain wanted answered.

"I was just seeing if I could maybe heal his scar," she said, grasping the first logical thought that came to mind. Thank the Spirits it was a logical explanation.

"Leave his scar." Sashain said simply. "Focus on his back. I want him to be fighting in the arena tomorrow." This caught Katara's attention. Immediately she stood up.

"He's not going to be ready by tomorrow!" she protested, her hands open, her muscles tense.

"That's too bad," Sashain replied and crossed her arms casually. Her eyes were hooded. Katara was again hit with the feeling that the chief was a predator.

"You're not even going to give him a fighting chance?" she asked, her words rough.

"Of course he'll have a fighting chance." The bender replied. "I believe in fairness." _Then I'm the Fire Lady. _Sashain uncrossed her arms and gracefully moved to stand at Zuko's cot. A smirk graced her face. When she saw that look on the sandbender's face a chill went up Katara's spine. "I want you to heal him faster." She said as she reached out to place a finger on the ex prince's face. Katara used everything she had to suppress the desire to knock the lioness of a woman out of the way.

"It's not good for him to—" Katara replied, her words clipped and controlled.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" Sashain's finger stopped tracing Zuko's jaw and her grey eyes snapped to Katara's face. The girl blinked and her throat worked up and down. She _should_ hold her tongue. But…

"No. But I don't care. You can't do this." She stood up straight and clenched her hands, her blue eyes defiant.

Sashain smiled wickedly. Katara's determination wavered.

"Oh yes, I can."

"No," the waterbender said. She had to fight this. "I'm not going to heal him any faster, and you can't make me. There aren't any other healers here. If you want me to cooperate with you, then he's not going to fight in the arena until he's fully healed."

"Katara…" it was the first time Sashain had said her name. She inhaled sharply and her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fists more tightly. "We've been kind to you so far. We gave you a place to sleep, patients to cure, food to eat. I didn't let one of the men take you. I didn't force you in with the Fire Nation prisoners. I let you befriend Boon." Those grey eyes bore into Katara. The girl shifted her weight uneasily and met the leader's gaze. "But things can get hard for you, girl. I can take Boon away. I can take your patients, your food, your water, and what limited freedom you have." Sashain wasn't moving, but Katara felt like she was being circled. Cornered.

And suddenly the woman changed tactics.

"Why is he important?" she questioned. "You were never so close to any of the other prisoners."

Silence.

Sashain was patient though. She would wait.

Katara caved.

"He's different."

"He cares about you," Sashain replied immediately after, her voice a hiss. "And you know it. Do you know why that's a problem?" The waterbender didn't reply. "Because it gives him hope. Because it gives _you_ hope. You shouldn't be dreaming, girl, you should have your head _here._ Here is where you can die. Here is where your life hangs in the balance… you got that?" Katara was motionless.

A burning pain suddenly slashed across her face and caused Katara to cry out. For half a heartbeat she heard Boon moan… but he still slept.

"You can heal him or you can leave him," Sashain said, her voice dangerously low. "Either way he's going into the arena at noon today." And with that the woman walked out of the stone room and disappeared.

For several moments after Katara stared at the exit, blinking back tears. Her knuckles were still white, but there was nothing left for her to fight. There was nothing she could do. She slowly sank to the ground and tears mingled with blood fell to the stone floor.


End file.
